


Good Together

by risenfromash



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: M/M, fraxus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2016-06-03
Packaged: 2018-06-01 22:28:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 29,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6539008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/risenfromash/pseuds/risenfromash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A swordsman & rune mage w/a strong determination to become the best, yet naive to the realities of life as a mage meets a certain dragonslayer. Laxus considers the rest of FT to not be good enough to team up with him, but he sees potential in Freed. Journey w/the two of them as they form the partnership that becomes legend. Strong hints of Fraxus in a heteronormal-type setting.</p><p>IS ALSO POSTING THIS ON  THE FANFICTION WEBSITE: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11833162/1/Good-Together</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Risenfromash: Laxus and Freed have a very naughty habit of occupying my brain and they have been quite adamant that despite their apparent love of privacy that they wanted me to tell you about how they met, back in what Laxus describes with a smirk as his 'innocent days'. This is a multiple part story about the formation of the bond between him and a certain emerald-haired rune mage who is determined to never leave him even if it means going to hell.
> 
> Enjoy! :D

**_Good Together_ **

Part 1:

Freed Justine had a spring in his step as he walked down Canal Street. After a tedious train ride across the Fiore countryside he was overjoyed to be liberated from the confines of the iron contraption on such a gorgeous day. Looking up at the blue sky he wondered if his former home had ever been blessed with such amazingly puffy clouds. Had he ever before so easily imagined them to be dragons and demons?

Pausing to watch a passing boat he realized that some of the exhilaration he was feeling might be more than simply the excitement of being in a new place for the first time. He could swear that the flow of magic was greater here than in the average city and it made him wonder what might be the source of the power he sensed. Determined to investigate Magnolia's secrets he decided to check into an inn and then explore the town until he retired that evening. He pulled out a tourist map he had picked up at the train station. It showed in which general direction to go to encounter a number of eateries and accommodations, as well as the best routes to the Kardia Cathedral, which served as the centerpiece for the community.

 _What a magnificent afternoon_ , he thought to himself as he tucked the map back in his leather satchel and headed toward the cluster of inns he had located on it.

Perhaps it had been examining that map that ensured he was targeted or perhaps it was the look of wonderment upon his face as he ventured toward the city center or… maybe it was the valuable sword attached to his hip, but whatever the case, Freed's 'magnificent afternoon' was about to take a turn for the worst because a gang of thieves had chosen him as their next victim. The bandits began tailing him shortly after he left the train depot, all the while sizing him up and strategizing how best to separate him from that expensive sword, his jewels, and whatever other prizes they might find he carried with him.

Unfortunately for the emerald-haired mage he remained blissfully ignorant that anyone was paying him any mind. Oblivious to the attention of the bandits he instead noticed the cats lining up outside a fish shop begging for scraps of the day's catch and a book store that he was _definitely_ going to have to visit before leaving town and a shop displaying all the latest in lacrima-powered appliances. Freed glanced at the disc player in the window before heading north.

It was a couple blocks past _Appliance Outlet_ that the bandits made their move. First, a portly man who a moment before had been leaning against a building reading a newspaper suddenly leapt at the mage holding a knife to his throat as another man, this one tall and lanky, stopped his leisurely stroll and ran at him. The two men hustled him into a nearby alley where a third man was waiting demanding that Freed hand over his valuables or lose his life.

 _Dammit!,_ Freed thought as the three men converged upon him. _I know better than to make myself an easy target for thieves!_ But he told himself there would be plenty of time to chastise himself later, as right then he needed to figure out how to get out of his predicament without losing his jewels, his precious sword, or his life.

 _I'm outnumbered, but I'd rather die than have these miscreants touch my blade and_ , smiling darkly he remembered, _they don't know that I'm a mage which gives me the upper hand._ _My sword_ ** _and_** _my runic script are ready for a fight!_

The man who had lain in wait in the alley barked orders to his cronies, telling them to take Freed's bag and check all of his pockets for jewels. Freed thrashed against the restraint distressed by the thought of his sword in the hands of such riff-raff.

 _At least this will be good practice for me_ , he thought. _I'm sure they won't be the last hooligans who attempt to steal from me._ _But aren't they in for a surprise when they realize I'm not_ merely _a swordsman?_

He strategized that if he could free himself from the hold of the two men before the third loosened his belt he would then be able to unsheathe his sword and then the fun could really begin. As they struggled to check his pockets and rummage through his bags he pretended to be putting up a fight, but his attention was actually on his fingertips which were constructing threads of runic scripts as he fought.

"What's your problem?" growled the short robber who had a long, hooked nose that resembled the beak of a falcon. "We told you to hand over your jewels!"

"And I said that I will not," the young man said eyeing the three ruffians confidently.

"Oh, _ok_ ," the third robber replied sarcastically. He was clearly the mouthpiece of the group, and Freed surmised that he was probably the ringleader of the trio. "I'm sorry, but you don't get to decide."

Freed tipped his head to one side as the two men holding his arms tightened their grasp on him. "Oh, I believe that it _is_ my choice." Immediately, as though providing the punctuation at the end of his statement, both of the men who had been restraining him let out yelps and leapt backward staring at their hands. Freed's arms had suddenly become an undulating red mass of lava, scalding their hands, but leaving the mage completely pain free just as Freed had specified with his runes.

"Shit! He's a mage!" shouted the tall thief, his eyes wide.

"Don't get spooked by his little parlor trick. He hasn't got a guild mark," the leader grunted. "He's just a wannabe."

Freed heard the insult as not only a put-down of his skill level but also against his chosen field of magic and he seethed, his one eyebrow not hidden by emerald locks arching in agitation.

"A novice I may be, but a 'wannabe?' I assure you that you are not so lucky," Freed said shooting clusters of runic script in the direction of one of his attackers while his other arm unsheathed his sword. "Despite your poor behavior, I will allow you to leave here unscathed," he said as he pointed his sword at each of them in turn. "You remain, and I will not be so kind."

The leader threw his head back and cackled. Despite Freed's impressive display of magic it was impossible for him to fathom that this scrawny noble could be a genuine threat to his gang.

"Shoot him," the gang leader ordered which struck Freed as strange as he hadn't seen that the men were armed with guns or bows, but then he heard something from the rooftops above them. There was someone on either rooftop with a firearm! _They're smarter than I gave them credit for_ , he admitted to himself as a wave of panic washed over him. He could take the three on the ground, he was quite sure of that… but two gunmen, as well? Should he try to set more runes or simply fight back with his saber? Could he make a run for it? His mind was spinning with calculations, trajectories, and every runic spell he knew.

 _I've got to stay calm._ _I can do this. I can do this! There are more of them, but I am wiser, faster, better. This is what I've trained for._

Seeing the exit from the alley blocked by the gang leader, Freed took off running in the opposite direction, repelling himself off crates and garbage cans leaving a trail of glowing, translucent runic symbols before turning around and charging headlong at the gang's leader.

The portly thug shouted, "Come on, pretty boy. You don't wanna do this. Give us the sword and the jewels and we'll take it easy on you," as he jumped in front of his boss. Freed's sword slashed across his legs and he screamed.

The tallest of the thieves lunged at the swordsman attempting to unsteady him. Coming dangerously close to grabbing Freed's leg he sneered at him with yellow-brown teeth. Freed cringed. _What a disturbing lack of oral hygiene!_

"For God's sake, man! Buy a toothbrush!" the outraged mage shouted as he swung his sword slicing the tall man's shirt and chest as though it were made of paper. The wounded man howled and staggered to his right only to run into an invisible barrier Freed had constructed as he ran down the alleyway. _If only I had the time to encase them in a trap,_ he thought as he slowed an oncoming bullet with a wall of runes.

As confident as the young man was in his abilities he knew he couldn't keep this up forever. He needed to escape this alley, but despite his attacks the men continued to block his way out and he didn't think he could manage to get past the three on the ground and dodge the bullets of the two gunmen.

He swung his legs using them as weapons in addition to his sword, but he could sense the gang closing in on him as he batted away a bullet as though he were playing racquetball.

But completely unbeknownst to him he had once attracted the attention of a stranger. Early on in the fight, another young man had appeared at the junction of the street and the alleyway and began watching the action as though viewing it on a lacrimavision. Judging from the marks on his arms and a prominent scar over his right eye this youth appeared to be no stranger to combat himself, but he wasn't sure what had attracted his attention to the alley and made him pull his spikey headphones from his ears. Had he heard something even though he had been listening to his music? Or had he smelt the tell-tale odor of fight-induced sweat? Whatever the reason, something made him glance in the direction of the action and he was immediately mesmerized by the sight of the green-haired teen fighting off an entire gang of bandits.

 _D'Artagnan there isn't half bad_ , the scarred teenager smirked. _He's pretty good with his sword_ and _with that letter-writing magic. I wonder where he's from… I don't think I've ever seen him before._

Watching as Freed confounded his would-be attackers with his runic circles and swings of his saber the teen found himself thoroughly entertained.

_Wow! I can't believe the little guy hasn't given up yet._

But as the fight continued the teenager with the headphones saw the rune mage's carefully synchronized attacks grow more frenzied. Freed's physical and magical energy were rapidly being drained and the tide of the battle seemed to be turning against him. The rune wizard was becoming harried as the tallest thief picked up an iron pipe and waved it menacingly in Freed's direction.

The on looking teen frowned. _If that mage gets hit by that he's done for_.

 _If he hits me with that I'm done for_ , thought Freed as he successfully dodged a swing of the pipe only to be immediately kicked in the gut by the group's leader. The wind was knocked out of him and he was sent flying backward into the brick building on the south side of the alley, his body crumpling upon impact and falling to the ground with an unceremonious thud.

"Whahoo!" the gang leader celebrated. "Alright let's get his stuff… and Jerr make it so he ain't gonna get up any time soon, ok?"

Barely conscious, Freed heard the words and did his best to steel himself for a beating but his body was already throbbing in pain. A lone tear rolled from each of his eyes, not due to the pain he was in, but because he knew in a moment he would lose his most treasured possession, his saber. He had fought hard to protect her and he had failed, but more than that he had failed his mother and his mission. _I might not even live through this,_ he thought. _This could be the end._ Humbled, he began to pray. _Please, let me live through this. Don't let my journey thus far be for nothing… I can't bear to think that it's all been for nothing…_ He felt his leather belt loosen as his prized sword was taken from him… _If only I were a little stronger… a little better trained…_

" **Hey, Asswipes."**

Freed heard a low voice rumble from somewhere near the street. "Leave him alone."

"You want what he's gettin'?" the leader of the hooligans shouted back cockily.

Freed blinked. Was he imagining things? Was someone coming to help him? Surely, he was hallucinating. He had hit his head, after all… but a moment later the sky turned stormy and a strange feeling overtook his body. His hair begin to stand on end, his green ponytail turning upward as though it were a snake, and the same thing was happening to the other men in the alley.

Freed wasn't sure what was going on, but it could only be explained by magic which meant that there was another mage here and, it seemed, that person, whoever they were, was trying to help him. A small smile spread on his face as he struggled to pull himself to his feet.

 _I can't give up_ , he told himself as he stood on shaking legs. _I owe it to my ally to give my everything to this fight. We will win or I will die._ The man with the hooked nose turned around and punched Freed hard in the stomach sending the rune mage back down to the ground, but immediately he started to get up. _I swear I will continue to fight…_

"Don't you _dare_ do that to him," growled the voice of Freed's mysterious comrade. "You've got him outnumbered. It ain't a fair fight."

"You dumb enough to think we care about bein' fair?" the short bandit laughed as one of his cronies kicked Freed.

"No one's ever called me smart," replied the voice and Freed saw the other two thieves fly through the air, yellow lightning crackling all around them as they went. Freed turned his head and for the first time he saw the mage who had come to his rescue. He was a spiky-haired blond teenager with a jagged scar that ran forehead to cheek on the right side of his face. His hands were formed into enormous fists and the yellow t-shirt he wore barely accommodated the rippled muscles underneath. His raw, brute strength was that of a god, but his casual manner of dress and the headphones resting on his neck appeared to indicate that instead of having come down from on high he had merely been out for a leisurely stroll when he answered Freed's prayer.

The leader of the thieves sneered at the lightning-wielding mage wanting to reassure his team that they could face this monster. "Looks like we're gonna be getting a real nice pair of headphones as a bonus, boys."

"And you think _I'm_ the dumb one? Nobody's gettin' their hands on these!" said the yellow clad teen as he ran at the leader fist-first. His hand made contact with the man's face with a loud clap of thunder. Then he grabbed the other two men and threw them down the alley as though they were ragdolls.

"Leave Magnolia if you know what's good for you," growled the young man as he looked down at the three bandits who were lying on the ground moaning, the shooters already having fled from the rooftops.

The lightning wielder jogged up to Freed and offered him his hand. "You ok?" Freed nodded as he took the hand offered to him and rose.

"Watch out, behind you!" Freed shouted as one of the gunmen suddenly appeared in view again, taking aim at them. The blond youth grabbed Freed by the waist using his broader body as a shield as he raised a hand shooting lightning toward the roof. A moment later the lightning mage had released Freed from his hug and the gunman's body was plummeting face first from the roof to the alley below.

Freed had never seen such a display of power and he marveled that this mage was this strong and not much older than him. He stood there for a moment basking in the golden glow of the other teen's lightning before scurrying around the alley to collect his personal effects which had become scattered during the course of the fight.

After once again securing his sword to his waist, the young swordsman looked up and realized his savior was leaving and he jogged after him eager to show his gratitude to the man who had come to his aid. "Thank you," Freed said. The lightning mage said nothing, but turned to leave and Freed, unsure of what to do next, followed him. As he walked a couple paces behind the lightning mage he noticed the blond seemed to be limping. Concerned, Freed stepped next to him inadvertently crowding him a little. "Are you ok?" Freed asked as he stared down at the young man's shoe which was stained with what he presumed was blood. _I bet those bastards stabbed him in the foot,_ he thought enraged.

"Yeah, I'm fine," the teenager said wiping sweat from his brow and removing the set of headphones from his neck and examining them carefully as though more concerned for their condition than that of his own body.

"Are you sure? You seem to be limping," Freed pointed out.

The other boy waved his hand slightly to indicate it was no big deal as he replaced his headphones on his ears and took a step away from the younger boy. "Musta got a rock in my shoe or something'."

The green-haired boy recognized this comment as bravado, but decided to let the subject go, at least for the moment.

"I'm indebted to you," Freed said raising his voice so that if the other young man had turned his music back on he would still be able to hear him. "Without your help I don't care to think what might have happened."

The other young man lifted his shoulders in a nonchalant gesture. "No big."

 _But it is a big deal_ , Freed thought to himself. _My magic wasn't enough to overpower them, but yours was. It was amazing! I was getting in over my head and if you hadn't happened along… I should do something for you. Something to show my appreciation._ Freed sensed that the other youth might not enjoy a lot of attention and that a relatively low-key gesture of gratitude would most likely be the only thing he would accept, so the rune mage offered the first thing that popped into his mind.

"Let me buy you a drink," the young swordsman said earnestly.

The lightning mage made a quizzical expression. "A drink? _You_ drink?"

Freed did _not_ drink, not like that, and hadn't intended to imply that he did, but now he was too embarrassed to say otherwise, so he simply nodded his head.

The lightning mage studied the other boy. He was powerful and amazingly fearless… and he kind of thought he liked him.

"Well, come on then," he smirked. "I know a place. But don't feel like you owe me one or nothin'. I'm happy to beat the shit out of assholes like that just for fun. Other stuff I charge for."

Freed smiled. _This handsome young man works as a mage. That's what his comment about charging meant, right? And if he charges he must be the member of a guild…_ Freed's smile broadened as he realized that this was the first time he had fought beside another professional mage. _Admittedly, I didn't_ exactly _fight beside him, but we fought a common enemy and that means I'm one step closer to knowing what it will be like to be in a guild and to become the kind of mage I am determined to become._

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we continue! Onto the story:
> 
> P.S: Longer Chapter! Yay! :D

**Part 2:**

Freed tried not to stare as the muscular blond led him through the streets of Magnolia, nevertheless his eyes danced over the form of the lightning mage betraying his fascination with him. Despite the other teen's god-like power he had a lazy, relaxed gait that was evident despite the limp he had from whatever injury his left foot had sustained in the fight with the thieves. He didn't smile as he walked, but he didn't scowl either. Instead, he wore a blank, unreadable expression that Freed found enigmatic. _What is he thinking? Just walking around and jumping into the middle of a fight like that? What would he do if he got in over his head?_

The young swordsman tried to access the strength and abilities of the other youth. Had he witnessed his full power? Or was that only a sampling of his skills? And what kind of magic was that, exactly? Freed tried to categorize the other boy's abilities. _Obviously, he possesses the power to generate… or maybe, control thunder and lightning. But that's not all, when he was using his magic he bulked up._ Freed looked at the boy. His canary t-shirt was no longer stretched snugly over a sculpted chest as it had been in the alley, but hung more loosely giving him a more average appearance. _So,_ _his muscles must expand when he uses his magic. I've never heard of anything quite like it before… Lightning with growing muscles…'punching-weather-magic'? Does such a thing even exist? I wonder if he can summon other weather phenomena like tornados or gale force winds?_ _And when his muscles grow, does he get bigger_ everywhere _?_

In his mind's eye the lightning mage appeared bare-chested, his brute strength making the muscles all over his body expand, his pants barely able to accommodate… Freed swallowed nervously and twisted his head around so the other boy couldn't see him blush. _What has gotten into me?_ Freed scolded himself. _I'm just a bit infatuated, because he's such a powerful mage, and he's unlike anyone I've ever met. He's got that bad boy, antisocial way about him and having grown up surrounded by the social elite who, by necessity have to be social, I'm intrigued. That's all._ But his rationalization was not enough to loosen the bawdy image from his brain, as though it had been indelibly seared there by the spark of the other boy's lightning.

 _My teenage hormones are certainly getting the best of me today_ , Freed grumbled to himself. _Just because there isn't a young lady around to fantasize about, does_ not _mean I have to have such strange thoughts about another man! When I settle into a guild I really need to find a girlfriend so that I can be better focused._ _The absence of young ladies in my life is obviously having a detrimental effect on my sanity._

But another voice sounded in Freed's head. It was the low, rasp of Freed's former tutor, a tyrannical and humorless man the young swordsman had struggled to get along with for many years before deciding it was an impossible task. The judgmental man's voice rang through his psyche saying, _The young man is obviously a ruffian, probably even has his_ own _gang. His guild mark isn't visible…_ very _suspicious. He is certainly not someone to be trusted. You have already made a fool of yourself once today, Mr. Justine, do you_ really _want to do it a_ second _time? For all you know he could be taking you to some dark alley to have his way with you…_

A small thrill went through Freed's body, and he shook his head feeling utterly defeated by his conflicted thoughts. _I bet this lightning wizard never feels like this._ _He's so confident. He doesn't care what people think of him. I bet he's never once felt self-conscious. I wish I could be like that._ Freed scowled. _Maybe if I got to know him a little better I could learn to be like him…_

Freed didn't care that the blond lacked the social grace to introduce himself or to remove his headphones from his ears as they walked together. Freed was convinced that this young man was someone worthy of his idolization. _He's nice on the inside,_ Freed thought with a smile _. I know it somehow… and that's all that matters._

"We can cut through the park," the older boy announced abruptly as he veered into a sunken greenspace to their left full of plush green grass and big deciduous trees.

"Alright," Freed said, happy simply to have his presence acknowledged. Once in the park it was hard to believe that this was the same city in which the young rune mage had so recently been attacked. Everyone in the park wore broad smiles and politely nodded their heads as the two boys passed or wished them a good day.

They passed a father walked behind his toddler, carefully watching to make sure the baby didn't take too hard a tumble on the paved path. A broad leaved tree provided shade for a couple laying in each other's arms on a blanket their hands and lips all over one another. An old lady sat on a bench reading a book. Freed tried to read the title, but couldn't seem to make it out. Still, it made Freed smile and remember the bookstore he had discovered before he had been jumped by the thugs. _I definitely must stop in before I leave town. Who knows what rare treasures they might have!_

 _That is if you ever get to leave here,_ his tutor's voice whispered. _This boy could murder you and leave you in the streets and no one would care. You're just some random stranger. For all you know he could be part of the dark guild that killed your poor mother-_

Freed closed his eyes for a moment to silence the naysayer's banter. He was so tired of hearing that voice. He had thought when he left home that he would be free of it, but the obnoxious man had become a part of the swordsman subconscious. _Shut up!_ He thought. _I need to listen to my gut, and my gut says there is absolutely no harm in sharing a drink with the man who saved my life. If I'm lucky I'll perhaps learn a thing or two about being a professional mage._ He felt the pressure to succeed ebbing for a moment so that he could once again appreciate the warmth of the sun on his back and the joy of the simply things just as the townspeople were doing.

Spying a drinking fountain a ways down the path Freed let out a delighted hoot and, excusing himself with a small bow of his head, ran ahead to get a drink. His companion watched him, studying the way the boy laid his hands on his sword hilt as he ran, as though prepared at any moment to unsheathe it and battle the forces of evil. The teenager with the scar couldn't help but grin. _Who fights with a damn_ saber _these days?!_ He thought with a shake of his head. _This dude is really somethin' else._

Freed set his leather satchel on the ground and then began to run his fingers along every side of the fountain. Then he tipped his head and leaned over it as though examining it.

"There's a button on the side, under the lip," shouted the blond recognizing that Freed was struggling to figure out how to turn the water on. It was something newcomers to town always had a hard time with as the fountains were exclusive to Magnolia. They didn't even have ones like this in Crocus, as far as the lightning mage knew.

"Oh! Thank you." Freed exclaimed. "They don't have this style back home."

"Where ya from?"

Having taken a drink, Freed paused before answering to pat his lips with a handkerchief he produced from a breast pocket. "The far east. I'm passing through on my way to Malva."

The other boy grimaced. It was the most expression he had shown since he ordered the thieves to cease their attack on Freed. "What you goin' _there_ for? You a member of a guild?"

Freed shook his head as he picked his satchel back up from the ground and adjusted it on his shoulder as he and his companion once again began their trek. "No, I'm unmarked. But I've been researching which ones are the best-"

"My guild's the best," the other teenager said without hesitation, as though merely stating fact.

"So, you _are_ in a guild," Freed said delighted. "I figured you must be. Which one?"

"Fairy Tail."

Freed stroked his chin with the thumb and forefinger of his right hand as he recalled what he knew of the various mage guilds scattered throughout Fiore. "I don't think I've ever heard of that one."

The lightning mage stopped walking abruptly, his hands forming fists, golden lightning crackling around each of them as moons orbit planets. "You've never heard of _Fairy Tail_? We're the greatest guild in all of Fiore!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I-" Freed began, but the lightning mage cut him off, his lips curling in disgust. "What rock have you been livin' under?"

Freed knew he had inadvertently insulted the boy's pride and rushed to make it right. Adamantly offering an apology, "I'm sorry. I meant no offense. I actually don't know many guilds. That's why I'm on a pilgrimage to learn about them and decide which is best suited to me. I'm currently leaning toward Ether Scribe or perhaps Heaven's Spire."

The snapping and sizzling of the lightning ceased as the scarred teenage blinked several times in bewilderment. "What the hell would you want to join them for?"

"Well, I'm a rune mage and they have-"

"You don't have to join a guild with a bunch of other rune mages just 'cause that's your kind of magic."

"I know, but I need additional training… I'm sure you can tell that," the green-haired mage said bashfully. "I lost today. I'm a magic user, and I was still defeated." _More like got your ass handed to you,_ Freed thought to himself.

The other young man was quiet as he mulled this over. "You aren't that bad. Not really. You held your own for quite a while." _Which is why I'm even willing to talk to you_ , he thought. _I've watched Gramps evaluate potential up-and-comers for years and I'm betting the Old Man is gonna say you're something special._

"You were watching me fight?" Freed asked, embarrassed.

"Yeah," the blond said with a lopsided smirk. "I guess, the polite thing would have been to step in sooner, but I was kind-of havin' fun watchin' you. You got talent."

This surprised Freed but didn't make him feel any better about his abilities. "I don't know…" Freed mumbled. "I did ok for a while, but-"

"Don't be a sore loser," growled the lightning mage. "You needed an assist. That's normal. Not many mages can work alone, Guildarts, Mystogan, but not many others."

"Are they members of Fairy Tale?"

"Yeah, they're S-class."

Freed wasn't sure what 'S-class' meant but he assumed from the context that it must be an honor bestoyed upon high level mages.

It was unlike the lightning mage to be supportive of young up-and-comers because he considered most to be weak and lacking in conviction, but Freed seemed different somehow. He thought he might actually be feeling some feelings of admiration for him… but it was way too soon to be sure of that. And way too soon to tell the young swordsman that he himself would be taking the S-level trial soon and that when he became S-level he wanted to be ready with a team of his own, and just an average team, but a fearless team with mages equipped with powerful attack spells and sharp, ruthless minds that could take down anyone who dared oppose them. He was thinking all this, but he said none of it. He had to know more about this traveler before he could confirm that his suspicions about his potential were correct.

And the lightning mage impatient to learn more decided that now was as good a time as any. He crossed his arms and took a wide stance. "Show me what you got," he ordered.

Confused, Freed replied, "Excuse me?" Was he wanting him to attack or drop his valuables or…?

"Quit playin' humble with me. You're more than 'just' a rune mage. I saw you fighting those bastards. You were holdin' your own with the first three. You would have taken them all down if you hadn't gotten ambushed from the roofs. So, show me what you can do," said the lightning mage calmly.

Freed had never before been challenged to perform on cue like this, but the other boy's encouraging words gave him confidence. He inhaled, nodded and then pulled from his scabbard his saber and began creating a runic circle on a patch of grass near them; mere moments later a wind of hurricane strength blew within it ripping the grass from the ground in clumps. Next, having been inspired by the spotted squirrels running around the park, he set another runic circle at the base of a tree. Then, when one of the creatures ventured into the trap, the small mammal froze in place mid-bound as though suddenly taxidermied in that position.

Freed's challenger nodded, "More."

Freed immediately started casting runic spells whilst demonstrating his swordsmanship by slashing a perfect cross-hashed pattern into the ground hoping this multi-tasking would impress the other boy, but the lightning mage remained impossible to read. _Does he think I'm pathetic? He thinks I'm pathetic. Of course he does. What was I thinking? Thinking I could somehow impress this brute-_

"That was pretty good," the lightning mage said. "Now, try against me."

Freed's eyes widened. _He wants me to fight him? Ahhh, what do I do?!_

"On the count of three," the lightning mage said. "One, two, _three_." Instantly, lightning bolts flew in the swordsman's direction and he leapt out of their way looking like a ballerina save for the sword he was brandishing in his right hand which he was using as a pointer as he directed runes to do his bidding. As he dodged the lightning attacks he cast a runic spell that slowed the speed of the other teen's powerful blasts. Seeing this, the thunder-and-lightning user concentrated on a corner of the shield causing the iridescent, purple runes to rain down upon Freed, but not before Freed shot a runic harpoon at his challenger. The lightning mage dodged the attack, but just barely.

The blond raised his hand to indicate the bout was over, and Freed immediately ceased his attack, replaced his sword in its sheath, and assumed a resting position.

"Not bad," his challenger announced as he crossed his arms and relaxed. Freed beamed at the praise, as the lightning mage suddenly shot a thunderbolt from his crossed arms pointing the attack right for the middle of Freed's chest. He wanted to see what the rune mage would do when faced with an unexpected attack, and the swordsman did not disappoint. With a wiggle of his fingers Freed created a runic shield that sent the thunderbolt off course upon contact. Sweat poured from the runic wizard's temple as he held his outstretched arm in front of him holding his head

It was evident that maintaining the shield against the lightning mage's blast was a great exertion for Freed, but the fact he was able to do it… _That tells me all I need to know_ , the lightning mage thought to himself as he grinned and patted the other boy's back. "I think we should go have that drink now."

Freed beamed. He had actually impressed this _monster_?! It made him want to squeal with pleasure, but he held in the impulse trying to act cool in front of the older, more experienced youth.

As they left the park, the scarred teenager told him how Fairy Tail had been founded by a child-like woman named Mavis who had been a self-taught genius. This greatly interested the rune mage as all his magic was self-taught. _With someone like that as their founder they're sure to have a wonderful library,_ he thought.

Coming to a stop in front of a large building, the blond said with a wave of his hand, "We're here." Freed gazed upward at the massive structure. It featured architecture unlike anything else he had seen in the city. The roofs of the multi-level building had a strange pagoda-like styling and each floor was successively smaller than the one below, reminding Freed of a three-tiered wedding cake.

"Wow!" He said admiring the vibrant colors of the building's orange, green, and yellow paint scheme. "It's… so eclectic."

"Yeah, it's kind of crazy-lookin', huh? I hate how girly some of it looks. If I were guild master I'd be all for redoing those damn heart-shaped windows," he said with a roll of his eyes. "But I guess that's just me."

"I don't know," Freed said unsure whether he was staring at the edifice because it struck him as garish or gorgeous. "It definitely has its charm."

The spiky-haired blond led Freed to the threshold of the building. Above the door a large wooden sign proclaimed the guild name was framed by the silhouettes of two humanoid imps with wings and tails. Freed stared for a moment at the voluptuous shape of the fairies who left no doubt as to their gender.

"Fairy _Tail_?" Freed said uncertainly. Had someone written the name wrong, or was it supposed to be like that?

"Yeah, you know how people always want to know if fairies have tails or not? I guess Mavis was a bit of a fairy nut and she must have been in the 'pixies-have-tails' camp." Freed nodded, suddenly thinking that perhaps this Mavis person was a tad _too_ eccentric to serve as a posthumous influence on his career.

"Well, come on," motioned the blond as he moved to open the heavy wooden door.

Uncertain, Freed said, "I thought we were going for a drink."

"We are."

"At your guild hall?"

"Yeah, they serve food and drinks and stuff. Fairies have gotta eat you know."

"'Fairies?'" Freed asked quizzically.

"Not real fairies," he said with a lopsided smirk. "I mean members of the guild. Gramps calls 'em 'fairies' for short. I know, it's weird, but sometimes I do it outta habit and don't even realize it."

"But I'm _not_ a member…"

"It's fine. You're with me." As soon as he opened the door a cacophony of noise poured out. "They're startin' early today," he said with the shake of his head.

The two young men stepped into a big open hall arranged like a school cafeteria with long wooden tables and benches with smaller round tables around the edge of the room. Looking upward Freed saw that on three sides of the room there was a mezzanine with an ornate wooden railing, and across the hall was a lunch counter with bar stools. Next to the bar was a bulletin board housed in a giant golden frame with red velvet curtains on either side like those used on the stage of an opera house. Standing in front of the board, a tall, very tan man of large build dressed in a loincloth adorned with skulls the size of fists was standing reading the postings confirming Freed's suspicion that this was the guild's job board. _The job board!_ Freed thought gleefully. _A real mage guild job request board. Neat!_

But other than the job board, the Fairy Tail guild hall was a disappointment to the young swordsman. It didn't at all resemble what Freed had imagined a guild hall would be like. As far as he could tell, it was deficient in both books and scholars, two things he felt all decent guilds should have in abundance. Freed's heart sank. _This place is just a glorified pool hall or a rec center!_ He thought. _And not a single guild member appears to be training or studiously pouring over books to hone their craft!_ Concerned that perhaps he was being overly critical, a habit he was trying to break himself of, he again surveyed the hall. _Surely, someone in here is being productive._ Over in one corner a crowd huddled around whoever was the source of the shouting and crashing. Behind the bar, a waitress with a low-cut blouse stood drying drinking glasses, her enormous breasts bouncing wildly with even the minutest wiggle of the dishtowel. At one table, Freed spied a couple of middle-aged men sitting and talking, one smoking a pipe that made an enormous cloud that hung over their table like a thick fog. Another group of members were staring at the table in front of them before suddenly leaping up from their seats wildly shouting about winning and losing, and with a sinking heart he realized that whatever they were doing _may_ have involved magic, but it also involved betting. The only other person around seemed to be a young woman sitting on top of a table and drinking directly from a wooden keg. Freed stifled a sigh and reminded himself that this was precisely why he was investigating guilds before signing up to join one.

 _It has to be the right fit, and this was one I wasn't even considering, anyway. 'Fairy Tail', what a silly name! But I'll do my best to remain polite. I'm sure I'll learn something from my time here, even if it is only what I_ don't _want in a guild._

As the two young men walked across the hall toward the bar, the hubbub in the corner erupted into what sounded like all-out war. Upon hearing the sound of chairs being knocked over, Freed whirled around in time to see the first spouts of fire and ice shoot into the air as other guild members rushed to find the best vantage point to watch the action. Unnerved, Freed reached for his sword, but his host placed his hand over the hilt preventing the swordsman from drawing his weapon.

"It's just Natsu and Gray at it again," the boy in the yellow shirt said shaking his head in irritation.

"That's just two people?" Freed said pointing to the corner where a thick steam was now hanging over the crowd.

"Two complete _idiots_ ," the lightning mage said with a grumble. "Flame Brain and the Ice Princess are always goin' at it." Then in the direction of the warring mages he shouted, "Get a room, ya morons!"

Freed thought he heard something rather lewd shouted back but he couldn't be sure, and since his host ignored it, he did as well.

"That's the jobs' board." The lightning mage said redirecting Freed's attention to the bulletin board that he had noticed a moment before.

"Are those all the available jobs?" Freed asked as he tried to count the number of pinnings. Some looked crisp and fresh as though they had recently come off of a printing press, while others had yellowed with curling edges as though they had been there for a long time, and a few didn't look like advertisements at all but lengthy, handwritten letters.

"Yeah, except for the S-class ones. They get posted upstairs…" The scarred boy said pointing to the mezzanine. "Only S-class mages can go up there. But even down here I can't let you look at any of the postings 'cause you're not a member. Wouldn't want you stealing jobs from my guild mates," he said with a smirk.

"Your guildmates are…" Freed glanced over to the corner where the fighting was continuing and was alarmed to see a spectator of the duel teleport just in time to narrowly avoid a lance of ice that had been shot in his direction.

"Hi, there, Laxus," interrupted the attractive young woman manning the bar. She had extremely black hair, so shiny it appeared blue in the dim light of the guild hall. Her lilac eyes matched sparkling purple glitter makeup that extended from her face down into the cleavage bulging out of her gothic-style mini-dress, but despite her flamboyant dress Freed was more focused on her words than her unique fashion sense. "Laxus." He whispered the name to get a feel for it on his tongue as he looked at the fairy at his side. So _that_ was his companion's name. "Laxus," he whispered again with a smile. _It suits him._

Laxus ordered a drink for himself and his companion and without invitation reached across and underneath the counter to help himself to a bowl of nuts.

"Aren't you gonna introduce me to ya friend?" the girl with the purple eyes asked.

Laxus did not respond and Freed guessed that perhaps the other young man had forgotten his name. Not wanting to see him suffer the embarrassment of having to admit his forgetfulness, Freed hurried to introduce himself. "I'm Freed. Freed Justine. Rune Mage and Swordfighter," he said with a bow. To this, Laxus just threw a handful of nuts in his mouth and started chewing.

The woman put her hand to her cheek. "My! How well-mannered you are, just like a prince from a storybook! Laxus could learn a thing or two from you."

Laxus rolled his eyes and walked away. "My usual table, Helena," he said pointing to a round oak table in the shadow of the mezzanine stairs. Freed waved an awkward goodbye to the waitress and followed Laxus to what was evidently his usual table, not only because he called it that, but because the name 'Laxus' was carved into its top in large block letters.

Laxus set the bowl of nuts down on his name with a 'clunk' and shook his head. "She thinks she's real funny," he grumbled.

Freed shrugged. "She seems nice enough. I think she was just trying to make me feel at home."

Laxus said nothing more but plopped down into the chair nearest the engraving of his name leaving three available chairs for Freed to choose from. Freed noticed that Laxus' seat gave him optimal viewing of the entire guild hall yet shielded him from view due to the stairs. _That's smart_ , Freed thought making himself comfortable in the seat to Laxus' left.

While Freed was not at all impressed by the guild itself, he remained enamored with Laxus as he'd never met a more powerful mage. _And he's so_ young _,_ thought Freed. He had so many questions swirling around in his head for him he wasn't sure where to begin. _How had Laxus become so powerful? How many hours a day did he train, and what did he do to practice his art?_ But, despite Freed's desperation to learn the lightning mage's secrets, the young swordsman found the racket echoing throughout the hall incredibly distracting. Finally, he shouted to his companion, "Shouldn't somebody break up that fight?"

"Nah, there's no point," Laxus said, his distaste evident. "Like I said. They're both total morons. They do this all the time."

Freed was still concerned. "But they're both members of Fairy Tail, right? Shouldn't members of the same guild…"

"Not fight one another?" the lightning mage supplied. "Technically, I guess. But we're like family, and I've never met a person who gets along with all of their family. I sure as hell don't."

Helena walked up and placed a large stein in front of each of them, the frothy heads of the beverages overflowing onto the tabletop. "Here you go, two Lacramatic Zaps, and, Freed, I gave _you_ an extra shot for being such a gentleman," she said with a flirtatious wink to Freed before turning around and sashaying off, her ass swinging back and forth with each step. Laxus watched, drinking in the movement of her curves as he took long, gulps of his ale. "Mavis, I never get tired of looking at her backside," he muttered.

"Yeah," Freed said, mindlessly agreeing with his drinking buddy before taking his first sip of the Lacrimatic Zap in front of him. As soon as the liquid made contact with his lips and tongue it burnt like a hot pepper. The sensation reminded him of the time he accidentally drank some of the hair tonic he used to defrizz his hair. He suppressed a gag. _What is this? Vulcan piss?!_ He complained to himself, but he continued to down it, willing to endure the nastiness if it meant bonding with another mage.

"Helena's magic affects probability. She's got some way of increasing the chances of unlikely shit happening or somethin' like that," Laxus informed him.

"So, she's a mage," Freed commented to himself. He wasn't sure if he should be surprised that the server in a guild hall was also a magic-user. He had no way of gauging whether that was commonplace or not.

"Yeah, but she's gotten in some trouble with the council over it. They get touchy if you use magic to win at the races or boxing matches and stuff like that, so mainly she just works here serving drinks and stuff."

Freed could see why Laxus would find the waitress attractive, though Freed didn't feel the same way about her. _Not my type_ , he thought. Though, he never seemed able to get a handle on what exactly his type was. _Must be the big breasts… I really don't like big breasts._

"You ever had a girlfriend?" Laxus asked.

Freed shook his head. "No. I've been on a few dates, mostly to parties where I had to bring a dance partner, but-"

"Me, neither," Laxus said cutting him off. "But I've got my eyes on a couple hotties around here. I figure when I'm S-class the girls will be beggin' to get with me."

Freed wasn't expecting _this_ type of bonding, but he was happy to do whatever it took to keep the conversation going so he scanned the guild hall trying to guess what other female might attract the attention of the mighty Laxus.

"The brunette holding that keg is pretty," Freed offered, and then awkwardly added, "Curvy."

"Cana? I guess. But I don't go for girls who can belch louder than me."

"She can?"

Laxus nodded. "And she'll drink that whole keg in a day. She doesn't know when to quit."

At that moment the front door opened and a woman dressed in silver armor with scarlet hair marched in with the confident stride of one who considers themselves to be in charge. Laxus tipped his head in the valkyrie's direction, "Little Miss Warrior'll put an end to the fight. Watch." Sure enough, the redhead was already running into the heart of the duel brandishing a massive sword. A moment later she emerged from the crowd with what Freed presumed were Natsu and Gray… both of whom were boys, which momentarily confused the rune mage given Laxus' previous comments. The two young men had huge welts on their foreheads but were continuing to bicker with one another. Then the woman roared, "Knock it the hell off or I will pound you into the ground with my vengeful fist, and suddenly the two boys settled down.

Impressed by her success in ending the conflict Freed asked, "You like her?" He figured Laxus was sure to desire a woman that powerful and strong-willed.

"Nope," Laxus said giving his companion a sideways glance. "Just between us, she scares the shit out of me." He paused for a moment and then continued. "Not that she could beat me in a fight… she's good but she's ain't _that_ good. I just…" He trailed off unsure of how to describe his feelings for the often pushy re-equip mage.

"She intimidates you?" Freed asked.

Laxus reluctantly nodded, before eyeing his drink suspiciously. _Why am I talking so much?_ He wondered. _Why is it I'm sharing so much with this kid I just met?_ Laxus didn't talk this much to anyone, not even his grandfather, Makarov, Master of Fairy Tail. _Guess I won't worry about it. It won't hurt my rep to be friendly… but it is weird…_ Disturbed by his unusual openness, he shouted over to Helena to get another drink for himself and Freed, even though the rune mage had barely drank a third of his first one thus far.

Laxus was debating about his drinking companion. Was he really as good as Laxus thought he might be? Did Freed really have something to offer someone as powerful as him? Laxus knew he was one of the strongest mages around, but his grandfather had taught him a valuable lesson. Makarov had pounded into his head that you could only achieve so much alone. His grandfather had told him that was why Mavis had formed Fairy Tail in the first place… because everyone, no matter how strong or clever or brave needed a partner, a team, or a guild to support them and while Laxus had a guild he felt like he was too powerful to benefit from it. As of late, most of the mages Fairy Tail had recruited weren't anything special. His grandfather had a way of taking in orphans the way some people adopted stray cats. Cana hadn't even been a magic user when she joined the guild and it frustrated Laxus who wanted a guild as strong as he was. The problem was he couldn't decide if Freed was the kind of strong he needed in a partner. Laxus knew he wasn't likely to find someone whose brute strength would match his own, but he thought he saw the kind of power and superiority in the rune mage that he rarely recognized in the wizards around him. _Then again, I could just be taking after the old man and picking up another helpless puppy,_ he thought to himself.

He decided it best to delay a decision and that meant finding an excuse to keep the other boy around. Without bothering to set his stein down to make eye contact with his drinking partner, Laxus told him, "After this I'll show you where you can get cleaned up."

This statement called Freed's attention to his appearance for the first time since before the fight and glancing downward he became exceedingly embarrassed. He was covered in the dust of busted mortar and brick and had bloody scrapes and bruises all over him. His clothes were even torn in places, yet the waitress hadn't even batted an eye. _Don't tell me it's common place for guild members to come in here looking like this? What a frightening thought!_

"Oh, don't worry," the rune mage said not wanting to impose on Laxus and Fairy Tail's hospitality. "After this drink I can go check into a hotel and do it there."

Laxus shook his head. He didn't want Freed to go anywhere. He wanted to keep an eye on him and learn more about his abilities so he could further evaluate him. "Stay here. We got rooms and showers and everything you need." Freed looked unsure so Laxus leaned toward the green-haired boy. "Freed, you ever spent the night at a guild?" The disheveled rune mage shook his head sending bits of brick falling onto the table. "It's a whole different experience than staying at a hotel where anyone can stay. It'll be good for you. You can meet some other mages."

Freed opened his mouth to protest Laxus' generous offer, but the lightning mage ignored him and set to work downing his second stein. _What could be the harm in sticking around for a while?_ Freed decided. _I'm on an adventure, after all._

"Laxus, cheers," Freed said holding up his stein to knock against the lightning mage's.

"Cheers, Freed," Laxus said with the hint of a smile on his lips as he watched the swordsman take a huge swallow of ale.

By the time Freed finished his second drink he was feeling rather fuzzy. _Wasn't_ I _supposed to be buying_ him _the drinks?_ Freed questioned as Laxus plunked down a small handful of jewels on the table before leading Freed out of the guild's main hall and into a corridor that led to the rest of the building. Freed obediently followed Laxus through what seemed like a labyrinth of halls and doorways. He no longer had the energy or desire to go find a hotel. The alcohol compounded with the exhaustion of the day's travel and sparring had made him drowsy, and all he wanted to do now was snuggle up in a warm bed and go to sleep.

 _I wonder if he can tell how tipsy I am,_ Freed wondered as he yawned. _I must seem like such a little kid to him. Never been in a guild hall. Never drank. Never had a girlfriend._

"The showers are in through here," Laxus said opening a door. "There's towels in that cupboard there." Freed nodded and slowly made his way over to the cupboard to pull out a towel while Laxus stepped out for a moment. Inside the cabinet sat a pile of white towels each with the guild mark of Fairy Tail emblazoned upon it in bright orange. Freed studied the guild mark thinking it looked more like some kind of bird with a sharp beak than a fairy. _But stylistically speaking it isn't unpleasant to the eye. Funny I didn't see Laxus' guild mark. I thought the whole point of guild marks were to wear them somewhere prominent…_

"That's our guild mark." Laxus' words startled Freed who was standing in the bathroom staring at the towel in a daze, still fully dressed with his saber at his side. "I guess you didn't see it. It's on our flag and stuff and the Old Man had it put on our towels because someone kept filching 'em. Personally, I think Natsu just kept setting 'em on fire and didn't want to fess up. He destroys so much stuff our dues had to go up." Then standing back and observing the other boy's stupor, he asked, "You don't _actually_ drink much do you?" Freed shook his head, but said nothing. "I didn't think so. You should have said something. I wasn't trying to get ya drunk," Laxus growled. "I forget that not everyone can handle it like us dragon-slayers. Anyways, here's some clothes. I'll be around the corner in Gramps' office. You can come find me there when you're done and I'll show you where you can sleep."

"I have some clothes in my bag…" Freed said weakly.

"It's ok. I think your stuff got nasty when they dumped your shit out in the alley… and the guild has plenty of extra stuff. You have to with the Flamaniac around. He's always burning people's clothes off… he says its accidental, but I think he just does it to be funny."

"He done it to you?" Freed asked.

"You think I'd let him get away with that?" rumbled the lightning mage. Freed shook his head. "Natsu knows better than to mess with me."

"How did Natsu burn off all the ice mage's clothes except his underwear?" Freed had been too polite to ask about it at the time, but he was quite sure that the boy fighting the fire-wielding mage had only been wearing a pair of boxer briefs.

"Oh, that's just Gray. He's got this perverted habit of stripping all the time. Just be glad he didn't take his _underwear_ off this time," Laxus said shuddering. "Nothin' more disgusting than naked dudes, am I right?"

Freed nodded and as though in a trance grabbed the items Laxus provided. Freed was beginning to feel really, _really_ tired. Stepping into the shower he admired the water spout that had been molded into the shape of a fairy pouring liquid from a big jug. He wanted to ask more questions about the guild, he wanted to know more about Laxus, and what being S-class meant but it felt as though his logic had been shut off and he suddenly felt very emotional. He glanced in the direction of the door. Would Laxus really be waiting for him in the other room like he said he would be? Why was this stranger being so nice to him when they had nothing in common? _He could have been leading me on the whole time. He could be gathering a bunch of his friends to come laugh at me for losing today._

Freed grumbled to himself. He hated being insecure. Insecurity was a sign of weakness and he was determined not to be weak… but he decided that a little weakness when alone in the shower was probably permissible. It had been a very hard day, after all. Freed would have liked to take more time in the shower, but he was a guest and therefore once he was sure he had gotten all the crud out of his hair he exited the shower and dressed in the tight stretchy pants and oversized button up shirt that Laxus had provided.

As Freed stepped into the hallway, he still felt a nagging sense of fear hounding him. He whispered to himself, _Laxus, please be waiting for me, don't have abandoned me in this strange place where I don't know anyone else._ At the door to the room Laxus had said he'd be waiting in, Freed closed his eyes and held his breath as he turned the knob. _Please be the nice guy I believe you to be,_ he thought.

Entering the office, the rune mage discovered that he need not have worried. Laxus was there lounging on a settee to the right of a massive wooden desk that was covered in scrolls and papers. Seeing Freed, Laxus burst out laughing. "Sorry. That must be one of Guildarts old shirts," he said as he saw that on Freed's small frame it fit him almost like a dress.

"It's ok. It'll be comfortable to sleep in." Freed said with a shrug.

"You feelin' better?" Laxus asked as he went back to looking at the magazine he was holding. "You didn't hurl did you?"

"No!" Freed said offended that the other boy would think just because he was feeling a bit fuzzy that he would become ill. "I'm fine. It's just been a long day."

"You take the train in?"

Freed nodded as he rummaged around in his satchel.

"I hate riding trains," Laxus said. "I walk everywhere."

"Trains aren't my favorite, either," Freed said irritation coloring his tone.

"What?" Laxus asked confused by the other man's change in attitude.

"Those bastards made a total mess of my bag! I had everything neatly organized and now I can't find my comb," he moaned.

Laxus stifled a laugh as he watched the rune mage glowering at his luggage. It amused him that the other boy could seem so calm about much more dire things yet become infuriated over the loss of something as simple as a comb. Getting up, the dragon-slayer walked over to the big wooden desk that was the centerpiece of the room and opened one of its drawers pulling out a black comb. "Here you go," he said as he tossed it at Freed. "Gramps don't need it. He doesn't have much up top anymore."

Grateful, Freed caught it and began to brush his hair starting with the droopy bangs that perpetually concealed his left eye.

"Ah, what's that?" Laxus said pointing to the swordsman's forehead where a small cut had been hidden from view. "You should put something on that. I didn't realize they cut ya."

"I think it was the wall," Freed said as he patted it with his hand and then glanced down at his fingers. A small smattering of fresh blood was on them. "It's just an abrasion. I guess it started bleeding again because I got it wet."

"You should still put somethin' on it."

"You're one to talk," Freed said in a challenging tone. "Your foot is still bleeding. The stain is bigger now." _What am I doing?_ Freed thought. _Who do I think I am, calling this… this Thunder God on his hypocrisy! This is what alcohol does to people. It makes them stupid, and I am being stupid. I shouldn't be arguing with my host! Shut up, Freed! Shut up, now, before you become a lightning rod, you idiot!_

Laxus frowned. He wasn't happy to hear the other boy harping on him about his damn foot again, but there was something oddly refreshing in having someone willing to argue with him. _He doesn't know what a hot temper I have,_ Laxus thought sadly. _He probably thinks I'm a real good guy who could never act like an asshole or lose my cool._ The lightning mage glanced down at the stain on his shoe. He couldn't deny that it had increased in size since his victory in the alley.

"It's nothin'," he said dismissively as he turned his attention back to _Sorcerer Weekly_.

"Tell you what," Freed said. "I'll take care of my head, if you let me take a look at your foot." Laxus' eyes narrowed as they met the other boy's; Laxus didn't want to admit it, but it was nice to have someone looking out for him. Gramps was the only one who ever seemed to care about him. His father sure didn't. _And the other guild members are either scared of me, jealous, or too damned stupid or pathetic for me to bother with._

Freed came to stand beside the settee and in barely more than a whisper said, "Laxus…" The dragon-slayer's heart trembled ever so slightly at the sound of his name being said in such a loving, caring way. When was the last time he had heard his name without it being screamed because he was doing something wrong? For back-talking to the older fairies or breaking the rules or…? "It isn't a sign of weakness to attend to your injuries properly, and I know first aid. Let me take a look. I won't tell anyone."

Laxus turned his head, his mandarin eyes gazing directly into the other boy's sapphire orbs and he felt something within him stir, something frightening, something that made him panic. _What is up with this kid?! He's way too close!_ Thought Laxus jumping up from his chair.

Earnestly, Freed pleaded, "Please, Laxus-"

"It ain't a big deal," growled the lightning mage angrily. "I've had worse."

"I know," Freed whispered sympathetically. The alcohol was making his thoughts come tumbling out before he could suppress them. "You're lucky you still have your eye."

Laxus' inner dragon stirred. "My scar ain't none of your business," he roared.

Freed nodded, but to Laxus' surprise he didn't look scared. "Don't worry. I won't mention it again. There are things in my past I don't want to talk about either."

Laxus shot the rune mage an incredulous look. What dark secrets could this pretty boy have?

"Good. Then take me at my word when I say I'm fine," Laxus said settling back into the settee, though his eyes didn't leave Freed even after he once again picked up _Sorcerer Weekly_ and pretended to be reading it.

Freed sighed. His new found friend was stubborn and clearly used to doing everything on his own _. A part of me wants to respect his wishes, but,_ Freed glanced at Laxus' foot again and saw fresh blood had oozed through the fabric sneaker _; he got hurt while he was rescuing me_ , a _nd that makes it my job to take care of him._

"You ready to head to bed?" Laxus said still unsettled by this boy who seemed to be getting under his dragon scales far too easily.

"In another couple minutes," Freed said flipping his hair around with the towel. "If I don't get my hair dry before I lie down it'll get all tangled."

Laxus grunted and went back to pretending to read his magazine as Freed paced back and forth at his feet. The rune mage's thoughts obsessively ruminating on all that could go wrong should the lightning mage not have his wound attended to properly. _It could get infected and he could die. I can't have that on my conscious. Everyone in Fairy Tail would probably become my sworn enemy then. And, yes, it could be a minor thing, but if it's continuing to bleed…_ The more he contemplated the repercussions of allowing his savior to ignore his injury the more Freed became convinced he had to take desperate measures to ensure the man who had come to his rescue would be all right, and he hatched a plan that would _force_ the mighty Laxus to accept his help.

Freed began to do laps around the settee as he fiddled with his hair. Occasionally, he'd pause under the guise of asking about some knickknack on the shelves that lined the room or something about guild life, but he wasn't paying much attention to the answers because he was busy setting a runic circle.

"I thought you were tired," grumbled Laxus. "Why you pacing around like that?"

"My hair dries faster this way," Freed answered.

"If you have to do all this every time you wash it, I'm glad I've got short hair," Laxus commented. In actuality, he found Freed's emerald hair quite striking, but now with Freed flipping his hair around while wearing Guildarts' old shirt he reminded Laxus too much of the girl who dressed as Rapunzel in the last Fantasia parade for him to take the rune mage seriously.

"I'm almost done," Freed said sweetly. "Thanks for everything today. I really appreciate it."

Laxus acknowledged this comment with a 'hhhmmm' as he ogled the centerfold in his magazine. "She's got a nice ass," he said flashing the titillating photo of a Mermaid Heel mage at the other boy.

Freed said nothing but gave his strands one last jiggle with the towel while he stood at the foot of the settee. "Ok, I think I'm ready now."

"'Bout fuckin' time," Laxus cursed. Standing up he tossed the magazine back onto the settee and then took a step forward intending to show Freed the way to the guest room. "It's right this w-"

Laxus' words were abruptly cut off as he slammed into something invisible that prevented him from moving forward as glowing purple runes suddenly appeared in a neat square all the way around the settee.

Freed smiled evilly, proud that his plan was working. He hadn't been confident that the runic circle he created would maintain its integrity when met with Laxus' strength, but it seemed to be holding up quite well.

"What the hell'd you do?!" Laxus thundered.

Letting his façade down, Freed crossed his arms and stared into the blonde's eyes with the fierceness of an opponent who currently has the upper hand and knows it. "You're in a runic trap," Freed declared.

"I figured that out," snarled the trapped mage as he formed his hands into fists, lightning flashing all over the inside of the runic circle.

"Don't worry," Freed said calmly. "I'll let you out, but you'll only be able to leave once the spell's conditions are met."

"What in the fuck are you talking about?" asked Laxus as he scowled at his guest.

"The rules. I create every runic circle trap with certain rules. The trapped person, or persons, are unable to exit the circle until the precise conditions required are met. In other words, you must follow the rules to escape. And in this case the rule is that you have your foot attended to before you may exit."

Laxus paced in the enclosure like a caged animal. "You've got to be shitting me. When the hell'd you set this thing up?" Then his eyes widened in understanding. "You did it just now, didn't you? All that stuff about your hair was bullshit, wasn't it?"

Freed smiled, "No, it's true. If I go to bed with it wet I may as well just hack it all off. I was just… multi-tasking."

"You little bastard!" Laxus growled.

"I'm sorry, for deceiving you," Freed said giggling.

"Then why are you laughing?"

"Because I didn't actually think it would hold," Freed said grinning from ear to ear. "I mean, you're _so strong_ , but I should know better than to underestimate the power of the runes-"

"God damn you. I'm never speaking to you again," Laxus threatened crossing his arms like a pouting child.

Freed's smile fell. "Oh, please, Laxus, don't be that way. I feel bad about this, but I would feel worse if you got gangrene and lost a toe. There's no way I'm going to sleep until I know that you're ok."

"I'm not going to lose a damn toe, you idiot!" shouted Laxus. "It was just a little pin knife. It's nothing."

"Let me be the judge of that," Freed said. "The sooner you do, the sooner we can both go to bed."

"You're a weirdo. You know that?" Laxus said shaking his head.

"It's not going to heal on its own. Look it's bleeding more now," Freed said pointing down to Laxus' foot. "It's because you're all worked up and your blood press-"

Laxus' nostrils flared. "You little shit! I can't believe this! I'm nice to you and this is the thanks I get. See if I'm nice to anyone ever again!"

Freed arched an eyebrow. "I fear that that is a moot point, because if you don't let me examine your foot you won't have the opportunity to help anyone ever again. So, are you prepared to spend the rest of your days in that settee? I'll be nice and bring you food and drink. I'm not cruel or anything, though I suppose it will be a little embarrassing to have to use a chamber pot-"

"You bastard! I can't believe you!" Laxus banged on the walls of the invisible enclosure searching for any possible fission or weakness he could exploit.

"Please don't be like this. I know you feel betrayed but I can't in good-conscious have a wound you got fighting on my behalf not be addressed appropriately. I promise I'll never use this little trick on you again. But you've got to understand that I feel responsible. You saved my life. I am in your debt."

"I didn't save your life," Laxus grumbled. "You're exaggerating."

"They were going to kill me."

"Maybe," Laxus admitted reluctantly.

"And you got hurt in the process and I wasn't any help to you in the battle because I had already exhausted my magic. But I can help you now."

Laxus glared at the emerald-haired boy and rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine! Just get it over with."

Freed ran over to his bag and removed from it a small, embossed brown leather case tied shut with leather strapping. Inside were various bottles of what Laxus could only assume were medications and tinctures and bandage materials.

"Ok, shoe off," Freed stated and before Laxus could reach down and yank his shoe off himself, Freed had shoved him backward onto the settee and was unlacing his shoe for him.

"I can take off my own damn shoe," Laxus grumbled, but it was too late. Freed already had it off and was delicately peeling off Laxus' white sport sock.

"Just get comfortable and leave it all to me," Freed said from his kneeling position in front of the dragon slayer. "This will only take a minute or two."

"Oh, good," Freed said examining the wound carefully. It was a small slash to the webbing between Laxus' big toe and the one next to it. "It could be a lot worse, but it's still good we're doing this. It oozes whenever you move and it's really dirty. When they stabbed you, the knife must have brought with it a lot of debris from the outside of your shoe. I'm going to get a bowl and soak it…"

Laxus groaned again. It wasn't like he was planning on ignoring the injury entirely. _Eventually_ , he would have done something about it, maybe packing it with some goo-covered gauze and jamming it back in his sock.

Freed returned with a big bowl of warm water he had gotten from somewhere and before placing Laxus' foot into the bowl he dropped a couple things into it that made the water fizz.

Startled, Laxus looked down at the water. "What is that stuff?"

"Some healing minerals. It kills any harmful bacteria present and it smells wonderful. Doesn't it?"

Laxus grunted his agreement, unwilling to go on record as admitting that the floral aroma was pleasant, even though it was definitely the best smelling thing he'd ever stuffed his foot into. In fact, the dragon-slayer found himself sad when Freed removed his foot from the effervescent bath and went about drying it with a small hand towel.

"It's going to need a couple stitches," Freed told him. "I'll just pop them in and you'll be done."

"Stitches? I don't need stitches," Laxus said starting to get up.

"You didn't let anyone stitch your face up properly, did you? That's why you scarred."

"I _did_ let them stitch it," Laxus growled. "They just did a shitty job."

"Well, I'm going to do a very good job and it won't even hurt," Freed said casting runes around the injury. "Inside this little box pain cannot exist. I've made it a rule."

"You can do that?" Laxus asked unable to hide the astonishment from his voice.

"Yes," Freed answered as he got out a needle and some suture. "But not over large areas. For example, I can't make a person's entire body be pain-free or something like that. But it's great for small things like hangnails and splinters. Now just hold still. You try to get out of this runic circle and you'll meet a fate far worse than death."

Laxus stared down at the other mage. Was he serious? Was this boy crazy enough to kill him if he busted out of this trap? What kind of lunatic had he invited to Fairy Tail?

Frowning, Laxus contemplated Freed's sanity as he sat back down and the rune mage set to work suturing his foot. Freed was concentrating so hard that he didn't hear the door open behind him and another person enter the room.

"Oh, hello, Laxus, I didn't realize you were in here," greeted an old man's voice from behind the rune mage. Makarov took in the scene with amusement. His grandson appeared to be receiving some kind of foot bath or pedicure from a woman kneeling before him. Makarov couldn't see the young lady's face but she had the most beautiful green hair that he had ever seen. He always knew Laxus would snag a pretty girlfriend. _He isn't a bad looking young man. Except for that horrible scar_ , thought Makarov with a guilty heart.

"Hey, Gramps," Laxus mumbled avoiding the probing eyes of his grandfather, the slightest hint of redness appearing on his cheeks. _Of all the times for Gramps to come into his office. Leave it to the Old Man to decide to actually do some work right now. This is so damned embarrassing._

"And who do we have here?" asked the old man waggling his eyebrows. This was the first time he had found his grandson so intimate with a-

"My name's Freed," said the rune mage who remained on the floor but turned his head toward the voice and to his surprise found himself on eye level with an extremely short man.

The old man was startled when he realized that it wasn't a gorgeous woman attending to his son, but an attractive young man with long eye lashes and a beauty mark under his left eye. Glancing back at his grandson, he again saw an unmistakable blush upon Laxus cheeks and forced himself to suppress a chuckle.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail," he said warmly. "I'm Laxus' grandfather."

"Gramps is our guild master," explained Laxus moodily.

"The name is Makarov," the old man offered kindly.

Freed stopped his work to stare at the man. "Makarov, the Wizard Saint?!"

Makarov nodded. "Yes, but please just call me 'Makarov' or 'Gramps'."

"Or Old Man," Laxus smirked. He enjoyed causing the old man grief.

Makarov frowned. "'Makarov' or 'Gramps', please."

"Nice to meet you," Freed said. "Laxus has been showing me-"

"Don't get distracted, Freed," growled the thunder god. "You said this was only going to take a minute or two. I'm not gonna sit here like some kind of weirdo while you caress my foot or do whatever damn thing it is you're doing down there." _There now Gramps won't get the wrong idea,_ Laxus tried to reassure himself.

Freed arched an eyebrow. "I am not _caressing_ your foot! I'm stitching it up. That is an entirely different thing and you should just sit there and be thankful I didn't drag you into the nearest hospital. They are not so gentle. Last time I had to get stitches they jabbed the needle into me with no numbing agent and proceeded to tell me that no grown man should need to be numbed to get stitches. It was then that I vowed to attend to the majority of my own medical needs so I would no longer be at the mercy of a bunch of self-righteous nurses."

Laxus laughed. "You mean you carry this shit with you everywhere you go? Not just when you're traveling?"

"Why not?" Freed asked. "It takes very little room and it is of infinite value…"

Makarov drifted away from the two boys, but kept an eye on them from his desk. His grandson who so rarely smiled or laughed appeared to have made a friend and in someone very different from himself. Makarov smiled. Perhaps Mavis was still looking out for her fairies.

"There, all done," Freed said hopping to his feet. "Just cut them out in about two weeks and you'll be good as new."

Laxus looked down at the tiny knots and wiggled his toes. Awkwardly, he mumbled a 'thank you'. Then he stood up and, holding his arms out in front of him like a zombie, walked right through the barrier that had stopped him in his tracks mere moments ago. "Amazing," he murmured under his breath. "Well, I'll show you to your room. Gramps, Freed's going to stay here tonight, ok?"

Makarov nodded his approval and watched as the boys left his office and with a smile he whispered to himself, "I suspect that young man will be staying for much longer than a night if my grandson has anything to say about it."

 


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3:

That night Freed lay in bed his thoughts muddled by a racing heart and a spinning head. It had been a big day for him. He had met other mages and, for the first time, he'd seen a job request board and drank a real drink and best of all he had met the most amazing… Freed rolled over. The most talented, kind, dreamy-looking… Freed rolled over again. When he thought of Laxus he felt so many things he couldn't sort them all out. He admired the lightning mage's strength and candor. Freed was inspired by him, but he felt something more than that, too. Freed had enjoyed spending time with him even when neither of them was showing off their magic. The young swordsman felt a strong desire to get to know the blond boy better. Like static cling, Freed found himself attracted to the boy's side, fantasizing about going on adventures and missions with him all over the world.

He closed his eyes. What was he saying? The exhaustion and the alcohol were obviously playing games with him. He hadn't found where he belonged. _First off, I've barely any experience as a mage while Laxus has grown up around magic users his whole life. Regardless of what he might have said, he's out of my league entirely. Besides, this is only the first leg of my journey. I can't allow myself to become distracted from my goals by the first person I met along the way with whom I happened to connect._ But, Freed knew that the 'connection' he felt to Laxus was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. It felt more like an obsession than interest, as though he would do anything the other boy asked him to, without regard for the consequences. _But can you blame me? He's so… god-like. A god of lightning and thunder… 'Thunder God'. That's what I'm going to call him! I'd like to see him try to maintain his cool when I tell him that._ Freed grinned. He could tell Laxus tried to put on a tough guy persona around the other guild members, but having met him away from the others he recognized it for the mask it was. Underneath, he was convinced that Laxus wasn't all that different from himself and he wanted to let the Thunder God know that around him it was ok to be however he wanted to be. He didn't have to play it cool or tough. _It'll take a while for him to trust me, but when he does we'll be the best of friends!_ The thought made Freed giddy, but then he reminded himself of the hard reality of the situation. There appeared to be no other rune mages in Fairy Tail and he desperately needed training in his realm of magic, despite what Laxus might say. For Freed to become the best he could be he had to continue his travels and join a different guild.

Freed tried to comfort himself with the idea that as professional mages the two boys were bound to cross paths in the future someday. But that wasn't enough for Freed. He didn't want to be just an acquaintance of the mighty Laxus. He wanted to be there by his side for everything… and the thought of saying farewell to the boy with the scar made tears flow from his eyes. With a sigh, he rolled over smothering his tears in his pillow telling himself that the mighty Thunder God would surely not cry over something so ridiculous.

When Laxus awoke the next morning, the sun was already high in a cloudless azure sky, promising another gorgeous day to the citizens of Magnolia. Laxus lazily rolled over and considered going back to sleep as he wasn't committed to any jobs that day, but his half-lidded eyes came to rest on his sneakers which he had carelessly tossed on the floor beside his bed before sacking out the night before. Seeing the prominent reddish-brown stain near the big toe made him let out a little snort. _I better get up_ , he told himself with a smile. _Who knows what trouble Dartayan may be getting himself into today if I'm not there to supervise._

It was rare for Laxus to be excited by much of anything, but he couldn't deny the surge of adrenaline he felt when thinking of spending another day horsing around with the other teen. Most of the other youth in Fairy Tail were younger than the lightning dragon-slayer and he found them obnoxiously baby-like in their habits and amusements, but Freed wasn't like that; he was independent, strong, and determined… everything Laxus believed himself to be and thought every Fairy should strive to be.

The Fairy rushed through his morning routine barely getting all the shampoo out of his hair before getting out of the shower. Would today confirm for him his gut instinct about the other mage? Would the swordsman continue to impress him? _Is he really good enough to team up with me?_ Laxus wondered, but he knew it was what he wanted. He couldn't remember feeling this excited about meeting anyone ever before, even when other wizard saints stopped by to visit his grandfather.

Buttoning up his pants and throwing on a purple t-shirt as he hurried out of the bathroom, ran back into his room to grab his headphones before jogging down the stairs and popped his head into the main hall. He scanned the room looking for his guest, but he didn't see Freed anywhere. _Hhhmmm. He must still be in bed. He did take quite a beating yesterday,_ Laxus thought. _And that was on top of defending himself against my attacks. Damn impressive. He could definitely teach some of the other Fairies a thing or two._ His thoughts were interrupted by the guild hall's cuckoo clock cried out, announcing that it was ten. _That's late enough. I can go check on him make sure he isn't too sore to get out of bed or something, and if he is I'll bring him some breakfast to his room._

He jogged down the hall, past his grandfather's office to the guest quarters where Freed had stayed the night. Laxus rapped on the door with his massive knuckles. There was no response. Laxus knocked again, harder this time, thinking maybe the thick door had muffled the sound. Again there was no response. Was the mage playing games with him?

"Freed, it's me. I'm coming in, so don't be doing anything weird, ok?" Laxus announced with a chuckle as he opened the door. Stepping into the room his face fell. The room was almost exactly as it had been when he had left Freed there the night before. Everything was clean, the bed was neatly made, and there was no sign of the swordsman or his personal effects. As though hit by one of Guildarts gravity attacks, Laxus' heart sank. Had the rune mage left without as much as a 'goodbye'? Laxus broke into a run not bothering to shut the guest room door. He had to double check the main hall even though he knew it was foolish to think he could have somehow overlooked the boy with the striking hair and unusual fashion sense. Once again, Laxus scanned the main chamber of the guild hall; everything seemed to be business as usual, though the crowd of mages appeared a little smaller than was typical of this time in the morning. _Everybody must have either partied too hard last night or had jobs to head out on early this morning._

 _Shit!_ Laxus scowled. Freed was gone. Disappointment was overwhelming him, but he refused to let the tears come. He didn't cry anymore. He was too tough for that. He had vowed a long time ago to never let anyone see him cry and he wasn't about to let some other kid make him break down.

This was what happened when you befriended people. What had he been thinking? People were all assholes. _You go out on a limb to open up to them and what do they do? They just take the entire thing for granted and toss you to the gutter as soon as they feel like it._ _Freed_ , he growled the name under his breath angrily, before once again feeling sad. _Freed, you idiot._ _Didn't you know I was impressed by you? Didn't you know I wanted you to be my…_ he stopped the thought. It was too late. The mage was gone, continuing on his journey to join some stupid-ass guild. Laxus cussed under his breath. _I fuckin' hate people._

Bitter from abandonment by his new found friend, Laxus slowly walked away from the rowdy hall toward the back of the guild building unsure what to do with himself now that he didn't have the newbie to show around. It had been fun to share things with Freed and see how his eyes would light up. And he had learned things, too. He had never imagined that runic magic could be so powerful and he wanted to learn more about all of its applications. He had wanted to share more with him. It hadn't even occurred to him that the rune mage would take off without saying 'goodbye' to him.

 _I shouldn't be upset. I didn't even know the guy. I don't know what's wrong with me_ , the dragon-slayer grumbled to himself. _I don't know what the hell I was thinking; I must have been delusional to think about teaming up with that weirdo._

 _But leaving without thanking his host didn't seem like a thing Freed would do. Didn't he say he grew up in some castle or with a bunch of rich snobs or something?_ Despite his apparent anger on the surface, somewhere deep within him, Laxus clung to the hope that someone knew where his new comrade had gone or that he would eventually be coming back, but the lightning mage was embarrassed by this desperate sense of yearning he had to see the other young man again. _Chances are he thanked_ someone _for the hospitality… maybe Helena when he grabbed breakfast?_ Laxus clucked his tongue in irritation. If the dragon-slayer asked Helena about Freed's whereabouts he would never hear the end of the teasing. _Helena_ _seems to think the two of us are 'cute' or something. It's disgusting. And I'm pretty sure the Old Man got the wrong idea about us when he walked into the office last night. Damn it! I guess I'll ask Gramps, but if he gives me any shit, I swear I'll… I'll…_ Laxus was unable to come up with a sufficiently deplorable punishment, but figured it didn't really matter. _He makes one crack, just one and I am outta there._

Slowing his jog to a more casual stride, Laxus strolled into the office with his headphones on pretending it was just another day at Fairy Tail. He was going to do everything he could to get the information he wanted without jeopardizing his tough guy reputation.

"Good morning, Laxus," Makarov said warmly.

"Mornin'," Laxus said doing his best to seem aloof as he slid his headphones from his ears.

Makarov waited a moment and then seeing that his grandson was not going to say anything else, his attention returned to the papers he was examining on his desktop. Laxus continued to stand in front of his desk hoping that Makarov would offer information about their guest, but the guild master did not. Instead, he went about his business, leaving Laxus standing there awkwardly. The guild master got up and went over to the filing cabinet, pulled some papers out of it, and then plopped them down on his desk. Laxus shifted his weight uneasily. Still, Makarov made no move to engage his grandson in conversation. _God dammit. The Old Man's not going to bring it up? What a giant pain in the ass!_ Laxus waited another minute or two before he gave in.

"Gramps, you seen Freed anywhere?" he asked trying to act as though he wasn't all that interested in the answer.

The corners of Makarov's lips curved ever so slightly skyward as he raised his head. "Why? Is he not in his room? Did he perhaps rise hours ago?"

Laxus growled and raised his voice. "I asked if you knew where he was at, Old Man. Did he thank you for the room or what?"

Makarov sighed. It seemed that his grandson was an even bigger hothead than the fire dragon-slayer, if only he could find someone to channel that anger in a productive direction…

"Yes, he did. He thanked me and then he left-"

Laxus put his headphones back on, turned and stormed out of the room throwing the office door open so violently that the hinges became bent in the process.

 _I should have let the bandits rip him apart! Toying with me like that. Acting like he was gonna stick around and duel me more,_ he stewed. He _knew_ better than to get attached. _I just thought he was different_ … _Aww, screw him!_

Planning to go outside and take his aggression out on a tree or a pile of rocks or whatever happened to get in his way, he stormed down the hall toward the back of the building. As he turned the corner he noticed a small crowd of guild members clustered around the large window that overlooked Fairy Tail's gardens.

 _What the heck?!_ Laxus had never seen so many of his guild mates hanging out there before. Now he knew why the main hall had seemed so empty. Natsu, Gray, Max, Mirajane, and a few other Fairy Tail members he hadn't even bothered to learn the names of, were all hanging out in the hallway staring out the window. Curious, Laxus lowered his headphones and heard Natsu's enthusiasm ring out, "Wow! He's good. This is getting me fired up to do some training!"

"You said we were gonna go fishing today, Natsu," whined the high squeaky voice of Natsu's companion, a winged cat by the name of Happy, who was hovering near his shoulder also looking out the window.

"But we can't have some new guy thinking he's better than us," the fire dragon-slayer explained to the blue cat.

"He _is_ better than you, Flamebrain," Gray said. "You know how I know? Cause there isn't a massive hole in the side of the building!"

"It isn't my fault! I just get carried away sometimes," Natsu said turning to face his rival.

"It is too your fault. You need to learn some restraint before you fry us all."

 _And once again they're at it_ , Laxus thought with a shake of his head.

From out of the throng he heard the voice of Mirajane, a takeover mage, who was a couple years his junior comment on the mage outside. "He's doing really well considering he got attacked yesterday."

"He was attacked yesterday?" someone else asked. Laxus' brain didn't even attempt to register whose voice he was hearing. He was too happy, because it sounded an awful lot like they could be talking about Freed. _Don't get your hopes up,_ he told himself. _Gramps said he left hours ago, so he's probably halfway to Crocus by now._

"Yeah, a pack of bandits jumped him and he fought them off," answered someone.

Laxus felt flutters within his chest. Freed was still here! He was just outside training. _Of course he is. That's just the kind of thing he'd do._ Laxus smiled. He had been a fool, but it didn't matter now. _Thank Mavis, I managed to keep my cool in front of everyone. It'd be embarrassing to have everyone knowing how upset I was. I can live with Gramps knowing, but if Helena or Mirajane found out… shit, my life'd be over._

"He _tried_ to fight them off, but he said credit for the victory goes to Laxus," explained Mirajane.

"Laxus?! You gotta be kiddin'. _Laxus_ helped him?"

Laxus didn't recognize the speaker's voice, but the tone of disgust when the speaker said his name was unmistakable. The words stung Laxus. "Laxus doesn't even know him. He doesn't help people out unless there's something in it for him."

"Yeah, Laxus wouldn't help our team out with our mission last week and you expect me to believe he jumped in and helped some stranger, I don't think so," said Max.

Laxus stepped backward to hide from view. So this was what his comrades thought of him? He would be the first to acknowledge that he wasn't close to his guild mates. He didn't exactly hide his opinion that many of them were too weak to join the ranks of Fairy Tail, but he didn't think that there was such resentment of him.

"Come on, Laxus isn't a bad guy," Natsu said.

"What are you talking about? You're only saying that 'cause you're both dragon-slayers. Laxus is a jerk. He thinks just 'cause he's been gifted with incredible power he can do whatever the hell he wants and nobody can do anything about it," complained Max.

"He's a loner," Mirajane said wistfully. "He's gonna be like Guildarts and Mystogan. That doesn't make him an asshole."

Natsu hem hawed for a moment. "I dunno. I don't trust a person who hasn't got at least one close friend. Having a partner is awesome, right Happy?"

"Aye, sir!" squealed the cat.

"But who would want to be friends with him? He barely talks, he doesn't like to play pool, or participate in the Fantasia parade. All he wants to do is go on missions, drink, and listen to music with those ugly-ass headphones of his."

M _y headphones are cool_ , Laxus thought, his nostrils flaring with agitation.

"Laxus thinks he's so damn special because he's super strong, but he hasn't even worked to get his power. I've heard rumors he's not even a real dragon slayer."

Laxus felt anger coursing through him. He wanted to grab each of them by their gullets and pound them into the ground with his massive fists. _Not a real dragon-slayer! I may not have been raised by a dragon but I paid my dues for this power. My deadbeat dad saw to that when he stuffed this lacrima in me._ Laxus recalled the pain and horror of that day and how he begged his father to let him grow stronger through training, but his father wouldn't listen. Laxus closed his eyes. He hated thinking about that day, the day he lost the last little bit of love and respect he had for his father.

The lightning dragon-slayer was feeling nauseous ,a wave of vertigo overcoming him just as it did whenever he flashbacked to that day, as though each of the cells in his body had retained the pain of that moment and had the ability to release it anew at any time. He remembered the tears he had shred that day and willed himself not to cry now. _Fuck him!_ Laxus cursed. He hated his father, he hated the lacrima that had been forced within him and now he hated his guild mates, too, except maybe Mirajane and Natsu. He trusted that they would at least tell him to his face if they had a problem with him. All the others were, obviously, too big of chickenshits to do that.

 _It isn't me that needs to change, it's them. They don't belong here 'cause they ain't strong enough._ That's the issue. _I didn't go on that mission 'cause I didn't want to be a god damned babysitter. They're an embarrassment to the guild. But I'll show them. I'll make a team, the strongest team ever, a team so closely bonded we won't do jobs with anyone else. We'll be like our own tightly knit family… like a tribe all our own or something… and we'll cream every single last one of them. And that team is gonna start today with me and Freed._

Laxus pulled his headphones up and walked past his guildmates, not making eye contact with any of them. An awkward silence came over them when he appeared in the hallway and they all cowered as he walked by, but Laxus didn't pay them any mind. He had always known he was better than them and now the last bit of compassion he felt toward them had evaporated. _Those losers no longer matter. When I'm guild master I'll throw 'em all out unless they can prove their strength. Me and Freed we're gonna turn Fairy Tail around. I'm forming my own team and it's going to be formed today. I'm gonna do whatever it takes to convince Freed to stay. He's no push over, but I bet I can convince him teaming up with me will be better than going to join some other wimpy guild._

Laxus stepped out into Fairy Tail's 'backyard' and pulled an apple off a tree on the periphery of the yard. Taking a big bite of it as he leaned against the tree's thick trunk, he watched Freed leap from stepping stone to tree stump and back heralding attack names as he wrote runic script in the air in those distinctive lilac runes of his. _It's funny. He's not exactly manly, but he ain't girly either. He's not like anybody I ever met before._ He smiled. _The weirdo sure has grown on me._

Having finished his apple, Laxus tossed the core into a nearby flowerbed and walked softly up to join the mage. Freed seemed to sense a presence and whirled around with his saber, very nearly hitting Laxus.

"Laxus! When'd you get here?" Freed said lowering his sword as he slipped off the boulder he was precariously perched on.

"Not long," Laxus said.

"You almost got stabbed," Freed said with a toss of his hair. "You shouldn't sneak up on a mage who's training. Do you have a death wish?"

Laxus laughed. "Don't be gettin' cocky cause you trapped me on a couch once. There ain't no way you could take me out."

Freed's one visible eyebrow arched, a night's rest apparently having done wonders for his confidence. "Maybe not now, but one day I will and when I do I won't let you forget it."

Laxus grinned and shook his head. He liked that talk. Not only was it a challenge, but it didn't sound like something someone who was planning to take off would say. "Nice sentiment, but _nobody_ takes _me_ out."

Freed sheathed his sword, "I can't say when it will be, but I _will_ best you some day. It might be just once, but I'll catch ya with your pants down someday."

"Ya think so?" Laxus said amused. "And what makes you think that?"

"Because I train for three hours almost every day. You won't find me becoming complacent about my abilities. I will constantly work to improve my skills so that each day I am a stronger, better mage than the previous day." Laxus didn't know how to respond to this, but luckily for him Freed did not seem to be seeking approval from him. "God, I feel great this morning," Freed said as he stretched his arms and inhaled deeply. "The magic is flowing into me like never before. It's amazing. What is it about this place?"

Laxus had no idea, because he hadn't spent much time anywhere else. Was magic easier to draw upon here? He wasn't sure. If Makarov had ever said anything about it Laxus hadn't been paying attention. He often zoned out on that kind of stuff; magical theory wasn't his strong point. The dragon-slayer was more of a doer than a thinker. One of the things Laxus liked about Freed was that the rune mage seemed to be a unique blend of both.

"I train. I just don't do it at the buttcrack of dawn," Laxus explained, not unkindly.

"Mirajane said she's never seen you train."

"You were talking to Mirajane about me?" Laxus crossed his arms and scowled at the shorter boy.

"Yes, my intent wasn't to gossip like some old woman, but we got to talking over oatmeal this morning."

After hearing everyone in the hall way, Laxus wasn't sure he wanted to know what Mirajane had to say about him. "She's never seen me train because I don't train around here. I need a little more space to do my magic. Unlike some people, I'm not going to risk burning down Fairy Tail with my lightning." The lightning mage anticipated Freed would say more, but he merely went back to stretching.

"Did Mirajane say anything else about me?" Laxus asked nervously.

Freed glanced back at Laxus over his shoulder. "Not much. She was too busy asking me questions. Where I was from, about runic magic, that sort of thing. She said that I was welcome to have lunch with her and her brother and sister if I wanted."

Laxus' nostrils flared and his lips pressed together till they went from crimson to white. Mirajane had never invited _him_ to have lunch with her and Lisanna and Elfman.

"Jealous?" Freed asked with a challenging tone.

Laxus' face flushed a little and he stammered. "Jealous?! Why would I be jealous because a-"

The rune mage smiled. "You aren't fooling me. She has to be one of the ones you fancy. She's the right age and she's blonde-"

"I don't _only_ like blondes."

Freed shrugged. "But you aren't into redheads or brunettes-" A little 'tsk' sound escaped Laxus' lips and Freed smiled. "Don't worry. I think she's into you too, she kept talking about how muscular you are and how powerful you are, as though I couldn't figure all that out for myself," the emerald-haired mage said his uncovered eye dilating to take in the image of the god in front of him. Laxus felt embarrassed but refused to turn away. He refused to be ashamed of the man he was becoming, even if it might intimidate others. "But she says that when she's in full demon form she's as strong as you."

"No, she ain't," Laxus snorted. "No way, plus she can only maintain her demon form for like five minutes. She hasn't got stamina like me and I _do_ train. I just don't like idiots to watch me… unlike you. You know half the guild has been spying on you from the windows, right?"

"Yes," Freed said seeming unconcerned. "I find it odd behavior. They could just join me. The motivations of your so-called 'fairies' are very confusing." He glanced in the direction of the window out of the corner of his eye. "Though I did do a survey this morning about what guild they thought I should join and Ether Scribe won out."

"You still on about that?"

Freed nodded. "Of course, I have to join a guild if I want to make a go of it as a professional wizard."

"Let's talk about that over breakfast," Laxus said trying hard not to blurt out that he was determined to have the rune mage join his guild and become his partner.

"Lunch," Freed corrected.

"It ain't that late," Laxus grumbled with a frown as he turned to leave. "I'll have Helena pack us some _brunch_ and I'll take you where _I_ train. I got a special place. Normally, I go there by myself, but I guess you can tag along."

Freed's heart leapt. This didn't sound like the kind of thing Laxus would normally do with people, only special people. "Have you ever taken Mirajane there?" Freed asked.

Laxus quit walking and craned his neck to look at the swordsman over his shoulder. "Hell no. Why would I bring _her_?"

Freed considered this. "I figured you might want an excuse to be alone with her."

"No. I ain't taken nobody there before. It ain't that kind of a place." He paused. "Look, Freed, you're not gonna tell Mira I like her are you?"

"No, your secret's safe with me."

Laxus didn't have to debate the truth of this statement; Freed was a man of his word and Laxus liked people who said what they meant and didn't have to make him guess. He figured that was one of the reasons he'd never had a girlfriend. Women were always making you try to mind read, while a person like Freed was honest and straight forward.

"Thanks," he said relieved. "Ok, I'll be back in a couple minutes. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

A little while later, Laxus reappeared with a bulging knapsack tossed over his shoulder. "Ya ready?" he asked and the rune mage nodded.

Freed was more than ready, he was ecstatic. He was going to train with one of the most powerful mages he had ever met in his special top-secret training ground. It was taking a great deal of effort for him to maintain a relatively calm composure when what he felt like doing was skipping around like a little kid on their birthday from the excitement.

"I train outside of town. It's safer that way and I concentrate better," the dragon-slayer explained as they stepped onto the street in front of the guild hall. The two teens walked side by side through the streets of Magnolia until they reached the edge of the city where the older teen assumed the lead.

"See those woods?" Laxus asked pointing to a thicket of trees maybe fifty yards away. "That's where we're headed." The forest that bordered the east side of town was deceptively large and full of massive old-growth trees with vines that wrapped around the tree's roots and trunks. Woodland critters scurried out of view as they hiked through their home and birds occasionally flew down from the treetops to size up the two wizards.

Freed found the forest pleasantly cool without being overly damp and everything was so peaceful that Freed could easily understand why Laxus would enjoy spending time there. As nice as Magnolia was, it didn't hold a candle to the atmosphere here in nature. The rune mage had never seen such a variety of plants and animals. Occasionally, he would pull a field guide from his bag to look up something that had piqued his interest, but he never let himself lag too far behind Laxus as he didn't want to get lost, and it seemed to him like it would be incredibly easy to get turned around in the thick woods.

"The forest is a lot denser than I expected," he commented. "How do you know where you're going? Shouldn't we be making setting up some cairn stones or something to make sure we aren't going in circles?"

"We're not. I got a good nose on me. I can smell where we're going."

Freed tipped his head back and sniffed the air. He smelt a few things, something pleasant, which he assumed to be Laxus' aftershave or cologne, and the musky scent of the two men's sweat intermingling in the air. It was an enchanting odor that made Freed close his eyes and deeply inhale. _If only I could bottle this and smell it later… when I'm alone…_ Freed's eyes sprung open. He was doing that weird thing again. "Uh, Laxus… what am I supposed to be smelling?" he asked, embarrassed that he was finding himself swooning at the scent of the other boy.

" _You're_ not supposed to be smelling anything, but _I_ smell a fresh waterfall that spills into a creek with water so clear you can see the fish swimming in it." He paused and grinned and took another long, slow breath. "I also smell a mother bird feeding her young a caterpillar and some of those big blades of grass you can blow through like a whistle."

Freed was unconvinced. "You're pulling my leg, right?"

Laxus shook his head. "Everything has a smell. Believe me. Being a dragon-slayer makes you have an incredibly powerful nose. One of my first jobs was trackin' some scumbag through marshland. He was wanted for train robbery and the rest of the gang got caught but he bailed on them. It took three days but I caught up to him and taught him you don't abandon your team when the shit hits the fan."

"You can track people?" Freed asked.

Laxus nodded as he walked around a boulder. "Better than a hound dog. It's kinda gross I guess, but each person has a unique odor. I've got one. You've got one."

"Me?"

"Yeah," Laxus said with the hint of a sparkle in his eye. _And I'm gonna make sure I get to know yours real well_ , thought Laxus. _That way I can keep track of you and make sure you're ok when we're on a mission._

Freed wanted to ask what his odor was like, but he was too shy and decided it was wiser to focus on the terrain which was becoming rockier, making them have to climb on all fours at times. Summiting the cliffside they had scaled, Laxus set down his bag and placed his hands on his waist, " _This_ is _my_ training ground. My own little heaven on earth."

Freed hurried to join his friend. Looking out over the small valley below them, he felt as though he had walked into one of the illustrations in the storybooks he had read as a child. The place was simply too picturesque to be real and just as Laxus had described it, only better. The creek was just as clear as Laxus had said it would be, but he had neglected to mention that the small tributary started its passage through the gulley by cascading downward as a gorgeous waterfall.

"Impressed, right?" the dragon-slayer said proudly.

"It's beautiful," Freed said breathlessly. "I can't believe there's someplace this magnificent so close to the city. How'd you find it?"

Laxus shrugged as he picked his bag back up and descended down the cliff face. "By accident. One day when my dad and Gramps were fightin' real bad, I got so pissed off, I just took off runnin'. I thought maybe I'd just never go back, but I caught a whiff of this place and… spending time here kinda calmed me down."

"I can see why it would," Freed said as he followed his friend down the incline. "It's very tranquil. Where I grew up we had lots of gardens but they were so manicured, so planned." Freed reached up to touch the leaves of a low hanging tree branch. "I enjoy a place like this much better… where the plants are free to grow up where their seeds fall… to live their own life and make their home where they choose." Freed flushed. _Oh, god. Why'd I say that? This is not the time to sound like some lovesick poet._

Laxus grunted, which was a better response that Freed had feared he would receive. "Supposedly it was in woods like this that Mavis first learned a lot of her most powerful spells."

"You have a lot of respect for Mavis, don't you?" Freed asked interested to learn more about what kind of person would found a wizarding guild.

"Yeah," he said sitting down on the ground by the creek. "But I worry about Fairy Tail. We aren't as strong as we once were."

Freed was nervous, but there was something he felt he had to ask. "You ever consider joining a different guild?"

Laxus' eyes met Freed's with an intensity Freed had never before seen, even when Laxus was fighting Freed's attackers. If anyone other than Freed had asked Laxus the question there was no doubt that Laxus' response would have been a punch to the face, but Laxus felt his future partner deserved the truth, a truth he hadn't admitted to anyone. "Yeah, but I don't want to leave Fairy Tail," Laxus admitted with a frustrated sigh. "It's my home. I just want to make Fairy Tail better. I want it to be something to be proud of." He paused to give Freed time to digest this and then smirked. "So don't you be gettin' any bright ideas about dragging me off to join Nether Wipe or whatever."

Freed gave Laxus a dirty look. "What do you have against Ether Scribe?"

"It ain't Fairy Tail." Laxus said simply before reaching over for his bag. Loosening the cord that gathered it together at the top, he grabbed and tossed out a handful of _Weekly Sorcerer_ magazines. He rummaged through the pile until he grabbed a particular issue. On the cover was a photo of a blonde in a pink and yellow bathing suit and a pouting expression on her full lips.

Freed sighed. "I'm really not into gawking at chicks in swimsuits. I feel self-conscious around bikinis."

"Fair enough," the lightning mage said not looking up from the magazine as he thumbed through it. "I actually brought these for a different kind of research… ah, here it is. I knew it was in this one somewhere. Here you go."

He handed the periodical to Freed and pointed to an article titled, "Ether Scribe Calls it Quits." Seeing the headline, Freed let out a cry like a strangled puppy.

"Oh, no! Nobody this morning said anything about this! Did Ether Scribe really disband?"

Laxus nodded. He knew he should feel sorry for Freed, but he didn't. Laxus had made his decision. Freed was going to become his partner.

"Well," Freed began to feverishly flip through the magazine. "Are there any new guilds forming? Or does this just narrow my choices?"

"Let's not worry about it now," Laxus said standing up and looking down at the smaller boy. "Let's train."

Freed nodded, set the magazine back with the others and hopped up, a serious look on his face. "Let's do it!"

"Man, that was a good work out," Laxus commented. The two mages had been training for hours and both were nearly spent of both physical and magical energy. Sometime after 'brunch,' Laxus had abandoned his shirt revealing his black Fairy Tail guild mark which served as the focal point of a tribal tattoo that represented his lightning with large black curves that extended over his left pectoral muscle to his left shoulder and terminated on his backside. Where Freed came from tattoos were associated with the lower class, people who didn't have the money for nice clothes or jewelry, but the swordsman couldn't imagine a more fitting look for the dragon-slayer than the stark black design against his skin. _He's so handsome. It should be criminal_ , Freed thought to himself. _It's like he's so attractive, I turn into a girl around him. Doesn't help that he's so damned nice. Sure, he tries to act all tough, but I'm willing to bet that on the inside he's a lot more like me than he cares to admit. Maybe someday he'll feel comfortable around me to let that mask come off a little…_

"I'm going to wash off. You can join me if you want," Laxus said as he stripped by the riverside and walked in the direction of the waterfall.

Freed shook his head, suddenly bashful at seeing Laxus undressed. "I'm not going to smell bad to you if I don't, am I?"

Laxus chuckled. "Nope, but I will tease you about being shy about getting naked around another man."

Freed grinned weakly. _It isn't that I'm embarrassed about my body. I'm just not sure I could keep my hands off of yours_ , he thought to himself. As the day had progressed, the odd feelings he had for the Thunder God had been bombarding him whenever he wasn't completely concentrated on his attack and defense strategy. _I need to distract myself so I don't think about him over there…_

"I'll cook the fish," called Freed.

There were a number of supplies that Laxus kept at his training ground safely tucked under the gnarled roots of the ancient trees there. One of these was a long stick with a sharpened end that he used to spear fish. He had explained to Freed that he couldn't use his magic to kill a fish for fear he'd wipe out an entire school or zap himself in the process. Freed had attempted to catch one, but had no luck, but Laxus had gotten lucky and trapped one big enough for both of them to enjoy.

Freed built a fire in the spot Laxus had designated as a fire pit and set up the spit, but his eyes would occasionally flick over to Laxus under the waterfall. Standing under the spray of the waterfall with the hint of a rainbow splashed across his body, he looked like something off the cover of a romance novel. Freed's chest was aching. He wanted so badly to join his friend under the waterfall. He wanted to always be with him.

_If he asks me to stay here with him and join Fairy Tail I'll do it. I shouldn't, but I know I will. It's like I've got no willpower around him. But I can't. I've got to be stronger than that._

Laxus stepped out of the water and shook off like a dog before pulling his clothes on and joining Freed at the fire.

"Good timing," Freed said. "It's almost ready."

Laxus picked up his canteen to take a drink. "Since you made us dinner, there's really no reason for us to rush back to town. It's gonna be warm tonight. We could just stay the night."

"With no tent?" Freed asked.

"No reason for one. It ain't gonna rain," Laxus said appraising the sky.

Freed also looked upward. "I've never slept under the stars before," he said as he checked the fish.

"Then we've got to. There's nothing like it. I always sleep better outdoors."

"Won't your grandfather be worried?"

"Naw, he lets me do what I want and he knows sometimes training takes days. So, do you want to?"

Freed hesitated. There was nothing he wanted more, but he needed to practice saying 'no' to this boy if he was ever going to master it. "I'd like to, but I-"

"Well," Laxus said putting his hands behind his head. "I'm staying the night and without me to lead you back to Magnolia you'll get lost so I think you're gonna have to stay."

"Laxus!" Freed squealed.

"Aw, come on you know you want to stay. It's so nice here and I got a big tarp we can lay on. It'll be great."

Freed nodded, the image of the two of them lying side by side gazing up at the stars simply too wonderful for him to deny himself. Whistling a happy tune, he served the fish, filling each of their tin plates with a heaping serving of trout.

"Thanks," Laxus said before he began to shovel the food into his mouth. "Oh, my God. This is amazing," the blond moaned. "Why's it taste so good?"

"Oh, I just seasoned it with some herbs…" Freed said with a small bow of his head.

"You got herbs in your first aid kit?" Laxus asked, his mouth full of food.

"No, I just used some things I found growing around here."

"Herbs?" Laxus stopped chewing and looked around. "Where?"

"It's not like they grow in a jar," laughed Freed. "See those little yellow flowers over there, their leaves-"

"Those weeds with the funny little teacup lookin' things?"

Freed nodded. "Oh, and I picked a few mushrooms that were growing over there," he gestured across the creek with his hand.

"How'd you know you could eat em? I got a real bad trip on some one time."

"I knew a cook who taught me some things. I was planning on becoming a chef, before my mother died."

"Damn, this is the best food I've ever tasted. Nab's cousin used to be our cook at the guild, but he got married and left and ever since then we've had nothin' but bad cooks."

"It isn't that good," Freed said seriously. "But I do appreciate the compliment."

"I can't cook to save my life. I burn toast."

"My mom taught me. She was very talented."

Any time Freed mentioned his mother the lightning mage could see the deep admiration and love he had for her and it made Laxus envious. His mother had died years ago and his dad had proven himself to be a total deadbeat. Laxus wondered what had happened to Freed's mom, but, not one to pry, he decided not to ask at least not yet.

Suddenly, Laxus turned his head, pausing mid bite, his forehead crinkling.

"Oh, no, did you get a pocket of too much spice? I tried to mix it in well, but-"

Laxus shook his head and held up the palm of his hand to signal for his companion to be quiet as he set his plate down on the ground and stood up. Looking toward Magnolia his brows furrowed even more.

Following the lightning mage's lead, Freed set aside his food and went to stand by Laxus gently grabbing the lightning mage's arm.

"Is something wrong, Laxus?" Freed whispered.

"I don't know…It sounds like…" Laxus' face appeared strained. Then suddenly he sprang into action. "We need to go. There's trouble in town. Leave the stuff we can come back for it."

"I… I don't understand," Freed said as he hurried to scoop up some water from the river in order to douse the fire's flames. "How do you know?"

"I got extra good hearing, too. Something's going down at the cathedral."

"What's happening?"

"Some kind of raid… Sounds like they're trying to steal stuff."

Obediently, Freed donned his boots and stamped out the embers in the fire as Laxus pulled on his shoes and socks.

"Come on, they'll need our help," Laxus said as he led Freed through the woods back toward Magnolia, their night under the stars completely forgotten by both of them.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Risenfromash: I am horrible at estimating the length of the tales I wish to tell… they growth in depth and length as if they have a life of their own. I keep intending to wrap up my Fraxus projects and return to Soul Eater and original fiction… but I keep getting ideas so it is quite possible there will be more Fraxus even after this story…

**Part 4:**

By the time the two mages made it to the edge of town even Freed could hear the uproar coming from the direction of Kardia Cathedral. Running down Canal Street, he shouted to a passing boatman, "What's going on?"

"Some damn treasure hunter guild has come trying to make off with stuff from Kardia. You with Fairy Tail?" the sailor asked. Laxus nodded and Freed found himself nodding along with him despite his unmarked status. "Good, they can use more help. A couple o' your mates are already headed to the infirmary."

Laxus growled, enraged that a treasure hunting guild would have the audacity to march into Fairy Tail's town and try to steal things from Magnolia's prize cathedral, and along with that rage reared an all-too-familiar feeling of discontent. His guildmates _should_ have been strong enough to take care of a bunch of treasure hunters without his help. He pushed aside his anger at the ineptitude of his fellow fairies, channeling it toward the ones who he knew to be truly responsible, the bastards attempting to steal his town's antiquities.

He pulled his shoulders back, threw out his chest and tightened the muscles of his upper body. "These bastards need to be put down," he said, his words rolling from his tongue like a far off clap of thunder. Immediately, lightning began to spark around him.

"Wait, Laxus," Freed said grabbing the other young man by the arm. Laxus looked at his companion in confusion. _What the hell?_

"I can make your punch stronger… I think," Freed said as he loosened his grasp on the dragon-slayer's arm and, instead, rested his pointer finger on Laxus' bicep. Freed chanted something under his breath as a line of runic symbols appeared and began to encircle the other boy's upper arm beginning and ending at Freed's pointer finger.

"You can make me _more_ powerful?" Laxus asked with an incredulous look. "With runes?"

Freed nodded without hesitation. "Assuming I got the spell right… I haven't had the occasion to use it much."

Laxus made a mental note to learn more about the variety of runic spells Freed knew and what, with additional practice, he could master in the future. Just off the top of his head Laxus could think of a multitude of situations where Freed's abilities might be an asset, but right now was definitely not the time to discuss it. _They'll be time for that after I teach these assholes their place. Comin' in here and messing with Fairy Tail. Cocky bastards…_

As Freed and Laxus approached the massive cathedral they entered into a haze of low-hanging smoke which led Freed to wonder if the cathedral might be on fire or if the smoke-using mage he had seen the day before might have cast some kind of large area-of-effect spell, though the purpose of doing so baffled Freed as it seemed to him that the clouds caused as many issues for the Fairies as for the treasure hunters.

"Is the cathedral on fire?" the rune mage asked Laxus as they took in the scene. There were a few mages in the air near one of Kardia's foremost spires and a large number on the ground in front of the main entrance.

"Probably," Laxus frowned as he pointed toward one of the shapes flying around in the air. With difficulty Freed could make out the shape of a mage wearing what appeared to be a winged hat that was transporting him around in the air. "Happy's flyin' Natsu around and that ain't good. Those boneheads'll destroy the place."

 _The cat, of course,_ Freed thought. _That makes way more sense than a hat with feathers, but you never know, anything seems possible these days…_

"Agreed. We most certainly can't let them wreck the place. It's on the registry of historic places." Laxus' eyebrows appeared to conjoin in the middle as he briefly scowled at his friend. Why was he hanging with someone who sounded like a tour guide?

"What? Well, it is and I haven't even gotten to visit it yet!" Freed insisted.

"Keep your pants on," Laxus said dismissively. "You'll get your tour just as soon as we sweep out the trash." Laxus was studying the enemy and attempting to guess how many treasure hunters had come on the siege.

"If it's a treasure hunting guild they won't have many magic users, right? Wouldn't most magic users prefer to join a mage's guild?" Freed said, rhetorically. Laxus knew what he was thinking. He was wondering how a group of people with very few mages, if any, could take on an entire Magic Guild and not immediately be overwhelmed. Logically, Fairy Tail should have been able to easily overpower even the best of the Treasure Hunting guilds, but that didn't seem to be what was happening. Instead, it appeared that the Fairies were amassing injuries at an alarming rate, many having to retreat.

"I told ya," growled Laxus. "A lot of Fairy Tail's mages are weak. Gramps is letting anyone in. Cana didn't even do magic when she joined." It was physically paining him to see the ass whooping his guild was getting from nothing more than a bunch of dudes with thick wooden staves.

The old timers, Macao and Wacca, were struggling to fight off a small horde of treasure hunters. This was of little surprise to Laxus as he considered both of them to be past their prime and to have never been that great to begin with. Cana was retreating holding her arm in such a way that he knew she had to have taken a substantial hit to it. Erza was preventing a number of the treasure hunters from entering the cathedral, holding her own with one of her more flashy armored outfits. Gray was wielding a massive mace, but seemed equally matched with the burly, hairy gorilla-like treasure hunter he was fighting. Nowhere did Laxus or Freed see Makarov.

 _I wonder if the Old Man's hanging back to give the young 'uns a chance to spread their wings,_ pondered Laxus. _Or if he's foolishly thinking they can handle it themselves. Dumb ass is probably trying to teach us all some damn lesson or something._

Laxus' forehead creased in thought as he considered his attack options. He was incredibly powerful and had decent defense but he couldn't be everywhere at once. From what he saw he estimated that the invading guild would have brought at least twenty-five people with them, maybe even thirty, if they were smart, which meant he had to be strategic about where he placed himself in order to be of the most assistance to his incompetent guild mates. _Can't afford to get sloppy just 'cause I can kick ass. That's how people get hurt._

Part of the challenge seemed to be that the fight was spread out all around the cathedral. Whether intentional or inadvertent, it was obvious that what was going on was a bunch of individual duels rather than a full-scale battle between two guilds and that was to their disadvantage. He needed to come up with a way to enclose the treasure hunters within an area so he and the other mages could team up and take them out for good.

"Freed, could you put up one of your wall-thingees so these bastards can't take off runnin' when I come at 'em?"

"How many ways are there in and out of the cathedral?" Freed asked running alongside Laxus.

"Two… no, wait three I think… there's a door to the basement, too. That's how I snuck off when I had choir practice as a kid."

Freed couldn't help but laugh. "Choir practice?! You?"

Laxus frowned. "It was Gramps idea 'cause I like music. You got a problem with that?"

"No, but I want to hear you sing something later," Freed teased.

"You're gonna be waitin' a long time. I only sing in the shower," said Laxus, as he motioned for them to duck behind some shrubberies on the north side of the church. Freed's adrenaline surged within him as he felt his magic power yearning to be put to good use. He wondered if it was always this exciting in Magnolia. It seemed as though ever since he met Laxus he'd been more stimulated than ever before. _Just one amazement after another,_ he thought as he knelt beside Laxus to spy upon their enemies.

"Whaddaya know?" Laxus said pointing to the building's side door where a number of men were busily loading statues, books, and paintings, into a cart, which was rapidly filling. He was shocked to see the massive pile of loot the treasure hunters had collected; he had no idea there was that much of value within the entire cathedral.

"Looks like they're taking anything that ain't bolted down," Laxus grumbled.

Freed leaned close to Laxus, reasoning out loud, softy. "Taking into consideration the cart of loot, the best way to trap them would be to encircle the entire building."

"Can you do that?" Laxus asked.

"Yes, but I've never attempted a runic circle that big," Freed whispered with a nod of his head.

"But you can do it?" the lightning mage asked.

"In theory, I should be able to."

"Make that theory a reality and we'll be in business! They're planning to run, _the cowards_ , but if we can trap 'em-"

"It will take time, though," Freed explained. "You need to have realistic expectations… and if I get interrupted-"

"Don't worry. I'll cover you," Laxus' words were silken to Freed's ears, like the smooth trim on a comforting blanket.

"Are you sure?" Freed queried. "Wouldn't it better if you just berserkered a bit, instead?"

Laxus arched the eyebrow above his lightning shaped scar. "Freed, I'm a dragon-slayer, not a barbarian."

"About that," murmured the swordsman as he stroked his chin. "I've been meaning to ask you what exactly that means. You aren't claiming to have actually battled a real dragon, are you?"

"I'll tell ya about it later, it ain't a quick story, and I don't know everything. Natsu probably knows more about it. His dad was a dragon. " Laughter burst forth from the rune mage's mouth for a split second before one of Laxus' enormous, vein-covered hands clamped itself over his mouth to muffle the sound. The action inadvertently brought their bodies closer to one another, the smaller boy spooned against the larger.

"I wasn't kidding," Laxus whispered seriously, his breath warm on Freed's ear. "He's a dragon slayer, too."

Still enveloped by the thunder-user, Freed gazed skyward at the fireball streaking around the sky. It was difficult for Freed to observe similarities between the fighting styles of Laxus and Natsu. Laxus seemed so much more restrained in his use of power than the amateurish blasting of the fire user. _Laxus is so much more mature… so much stronger… so much more manly…_ Freed felt himself being overtaken by the overwhelming sensation he seemed to get whenever the Thunder God was physically close to him like this.

Freed's green eyes gazed up into Laxus' and the blond grinned. "Sorry, I forget that to other people it sounds weird. You done now?" Freed blinked in confusion. _What did his Thunder God mean? Done with this feeling? No, he wanted to feel like this always! He would be happy to stay there in his arms…_ _surrounded by the safety and comfort of those bulging biceps…_ Freed's eyes widened. _What the hell was that?_ , he asked himself as he gently shook his head trying to regain his focus. _For Gods' sake, we're midbattle._ Freed studied the Thunder God as the muscular man loosened his grip on him. _Maybe dragon slayers have some innate kind of charm magic… that must be it. Clearly, that's what's going on. But,_ ** _again_** _this is not the time or place._

Quickly collecting himself, Freed inhaled and with a nod of his head asked, "Fine then, are you ready?" Freed half expected Laxus to say he changed his mind about the runic circle. Freed knew that Laxus could simply charge out there and knock many of the treasure hunters out like so many scarecrows, but, instead, Laxus nodded, a crooked grin appearing on his face.

"Let's teach 'em a lesson," he growled huskily, and on the count of three, Freed drew his sword and swung it at combatants until he was positioned about ten feet from the building's back side and then he turned the attention of his sword to the air in front of him utilizing it in much the way a teacher would use a pointer to call attention to items of importance. Like a fountain symbols and shapes sprung forth from the tip of his sword. Beside him Laxus grunted as he smacked his fists into the sides, faces, and guts of any of the treasure hunting guild's minions that dared to approach.

It wasn't a thrilling battle for Laxus, but he did exactly what he had said he would do. He remained near Freed ensuring his safety as the runic wizard cast his circle. In between batting away goons as though they were flies, Laxus would glance at Freed who was diligently working to create an enormous line of symbols in the air before him.

 _I think he knows more runes than I know words. How in the hell's he keep all that shit straight in that little head of his?_ Laxus wondered. _And he learned all of it from_ books _. It's fucking amazing._ Never in a million years would the lightning dragon-slayer have imagined the person he would want as his partner would be a self-taught mage, much less one who specialized in an archaic and obscure branch of magic that Laxus knew virtually nothing about. But Laxus' observation of team dynamics over the years had led him to recognize that the common denominator between all the very best wizarding teams, regardless of guild, was the balancing of the strengths and weaknesses of the team members. _And I ain't good at much other than beatin' the shit out of people. Not that I'm complain'_ , he thought with a smirk as he knocked two treasure hunters to the ground with a single punch. They were such weaklings compared to him that he could easily knock one over and two would go down like dominos. At one point, it crossed his mind that they might be illusions rather than real people, but they felt solid enough when his hand came in contact with their muscle and bone.

As they worked, Freed and Laxus heard cries for help from other Fairy Tail members, but Laxus ignored them. This rattled Freed. _Why isn't he going to help them? Does he think they deserve to get their asses kicked because they aren't as strong as him?_ I'm _not as strong as him. Why does he treat me differently?_ The unanswered pleas for help and cries of pain tugged at the rune mage's heart.

"Laxus, are you sure you shouldn't…?" Freed trailed off unsure precisely what to say. The lightning mage simply continued pummeling the treasure hunters near Freed and called over his shoulder, "There are plenty of 'em. They can help each other. Somebody's gotta cover you to make sure none of these ass holes run off with stuff that ain't theirs'."

"But…" Freed wanted to help and even if he weren't strong enough he knew Laxus was. He felt terrible that Laxus was shielding him instead of assisting his own guild mates. _Wasn't it like a golden rule of mage guilds that you always assisted your own guild mates before other allies?_ he thought. As if to confirm this, Laxus' name rang out through the night. The voice calling him was that of a woman and Freed wondered if it was Mira or some other girl Laxus liked and it made him feel even more awkward that Laxus was protecting _him_ , instead, of one of his friends he had known for years. Freed's eyes met Laxus' and the lightning mage couldn't ignore the concern there, but he remained firm. "You said you can't be interrupted. So, concentrate, dammit. I'll help them when you're done…ok?"

Freed nodded. _I'll just have to cast faster than I ever have before_ , he told himself, determined to not monopolize the skill of Fairy Tail's strongest.

It wasn't easy for Laxus to hear the screams of his guild mates, but after the things he had heard them say that morning he wasn't in a huge hurry to help them, either. _I'm where I belong_ , he told himself as he wondered how much longer this 'rune-thingee' was going to take. He was impatient to find the ringleader of the invaders and let loose what Elfman would have described as a 'manly can of whoop-ass" on him or her.

Laxus sighed as Freed continued murmuring strange words in ancient, forgotten languages and tapping the air here and there with his sword as though ordering his self-made alphabet to do tricks. _I wish I knew more-no scratch that, I wish I knew_ something _about rune magic. I don't know shit about it… 'cept that I'm pretty sure I've made fun of it more than once. Then again I ain't seen anyone do nothin' like this before. I guess if me and Freed keep workin' together I better let him give me an education in rune magic 'cause I never paid any attention when people talked about it. Never thought I'd be worryin' about what percentage of a_ rune _mage's magic is exhausted by casting all this weird shit._

As though Freed could sense Laxus' impatience, the caster paused for a moment and looked over his right shoulder at his protector. "I'm sorry. It'll be only a few more minutes. I've only got about two hundred runes left."

"Two Hundred? Whatcha doin' writin' a novel?," Laxus asked as he used the rumble of his lightning to make the ground roll under the feet of some treasure hunters about fifteen feet away, causing all of them to shout and throw out their arms as though attempting to walk a tightrope as they fought to maintain their balance.

"Yes, I'm writing a novel," Freed replied sassily as he turned back to his work, runes once again sprouting from the tip of his sword. "Complete with prologue, afterword, and table of contents."

Laxus just shook his head. _I dunno what everyone else's problem is._ He _ain't scared of me and look at him go! He's probably only got a hundred and fifty runes left now._ _Seriously, he's like a machine._ Laxus' eyes sparkled. _He's the one. We're gonna become Fairy Tail's greatest team._

A couple minutes later Freed spun around, his chin held high as he proclaimed triumphantly, "It is done!" As he turned, the moonlight began to reflect off a wall of runes floating in the air about ten feet away from the church that appeared to go from ground upward toward infinity.

"Can you tell if it's working?" Laxus asked. He wasn't sure if the luminescence meant success or would happen even with a failed attempt.

"It's working," Freed said with pride as he pointed skyward. "Watch." Laxus and Freed watched as the silhouette of a treasure hunter that had been sent flying by a powerful attack made contact with the wall. The form abruptly stopped and then proceeded to slide down the invisible barrier like something from the cartoons that played on lacrimavision on Saturday mornings.

Laxus nodded with a smile. _Rune magic certainly ain't stupid the way Freed does it, that's for sure._

"Don't worry you can fly through it," Freed shouted as Happy started to veer away from the barrier.

Natsu cautiously stuck an arm through it and then waved his hand wildly. "Waaahooo! Let's pick 'em up and throw 'em at it, Happy!"

"Aye, Sir!" the blue cat said diving down to snatch up a treasure hunter.

"Awright! I'm going in!" Laxus told Freed. "I'm gonna flush 'em out of the cathedral." Then his face clouded, "You gonna be ok, Freed?" Laxus had no idea if the runic circle was continuously draining Freed's magic or how it really worked.

"I have my sword," Freed said confidently as he sized up the enemy. "You get them out of there and we'll take it from there."

"Ok, just keep that barrier up," Laxus said as he ran to the front of the cathedral preparing to regain control of the inside of the landmark.

As the lightning dragon-slayer turned the corner, the Fairies cheered. Laxus had come to their rescue. Even a few guild members who had been knocked out came to and forced themselves to their feet. The tide of the battle was turning or so they believed. Freed smiled seeing the sky flash with light that could only be his friend's lightning. _It won't be long now and we'll be piling up their bodies to cart off to the infirmary at the police station_ , Freed thought, but then his confidence was shaken by hearing a voice shout out to the Thunder God.

"Laxus, they've got the Master!"

Laxus was near the front steps of the cathedral when Erza's words reached his ears and immediately his attacks intensified, their names growing longer and more grandiose with each step he took toward Kardia's threshold.

Hearing that Laxus' grandfather was in danger, Freed ran in the direction of the cathedral's entrance following the sound of Laxus' thunder. Freed knew that Laxus had intended for him to stay outside and do all he could to maintain the integrity of the runic barrier, but that had been before Laxus had known Makarov was inside. Freed didn't even bother to weigh the options. Aiding Laxus in the rescue of his grandfather was of far greater importance to Freed than saving any historic building or treasure or even helping the other Fairies. He owed much to Laxus and if he could be of any assistance his runes and his sword were at the Thunder God's disposal.

Waving his sword in the calculated swings of a highly skilled saber user, Freed was able to quickly cover the ground between the side door and the steps of the cathedral. Blinding himself to the struggles of the other Fairies he passed, he ran up the steps of the cathedral taking them two at a time.

From inside, Freed heard Laxus threaten, "You hurt him, you'll be answering to me." _How cliché_ , noted Freed. _I'm going to have to work with him on coming up with more intimidating dialogue that will undermine the enemy's confidence… because_ that _is definitely_ not _going to cut it. He should sound better than a common thug. They have his_ grandfather _!_

Freed ran into the main chamber of the cathedral. Presumably there had been pews in rows on either side of the aisle, but now the ones on the northern side were busted and lay in heaps, undoubtedly the result of an attack by the mighty Laxus.

"You're gonna give us the Master back right now!" Laxus roared at five men who stood in a row across from him. In the arms of one of the men, lay the guild master, limp and seemingly lifeless.

 _Since they're holding him he must still be alive, just knocked out_ , reasoned Freed. _But how in the world would they have overpowered a Wizard Saint? Whatever they did must have been dirty fighting, which constitutes the action of a dark guild._ He paused and inhaled deeply before whispering the words he recited every morning before beginning his training, "In honor of my mother and all the others who have lost their lives at the hand of dark guilds, grant me the ability to be without mercy until their eradication. Bless my runes and my blade for today I seek vengeance against evil," and then ran forward.

"What are you doing in here?" Laxus asked angrily, never once removing his eyes from the man clutching his grandfather. The man was incredibly tall and skinny as though he had been stretched on a rack and half of his long, gaunt face was concealed by a cobalt and fuchsia mask that appeared to be made of some kind of strange metal. "Don't you need to be taking care of the runes or something?"

Freed growled his displeasure at his friend's comment before ever-so-politely said, "I heard your grandfather was in trouble."

"He ain't gonna be for long," Laxus snarled as he lunged toward the one holding Makarov, his fist flying in the direction of the man's hollow-looking face. Freed had never seen an attack this powerful before. Laxus' arm appeared to carry with it the light of a thousand lacrimas, but just as his fist approached the man it was as though all thousand lacrimas had been switched off. All of the lightning disappeared making Laxus' hand and arm appear completely normal.

The masked man holding Makarov watched as Laxus withdrew his arm and tried again and then in a hauntingly inhuman tone commented, "Magical deprivation is a _bitch_ , isn't it?"

Laxus tried not to look shaken, but never before had his lightning simply vanished, and it wasn't only his thunder and lightning that was giving him trouble. His entire arm no longer felt right, a tingling sensation reminiscent of pins and needles permeating through it as though some of its blood supply had been impinged.

The men chuckled and started to close in on the Thunder God, evidently thinking that since he didn't have use of his magic the four of them would be able to subdue him without incident.

Letting out a war-cry like a general on a battlefield rallying his troupes, Freed charged forward determined to not allow anyone to insult his Laxus by thinking that they could take him down simply by taking away his magic.

"Freed, get outta here," Laxus shouted trying to fight off a couple of the men with his brute strength despite the strange feeling in his arms.

"I refuse," the swordsman proclaimed haughtily as he began to slash at the treasure hunters. "I'm going to help you get your grandfather to safety."

Laxus didn't argue, he was too busy pummeling one of the treasure hunters with his fist, his magic waxing and waning as he did so. Just when he thought it was coming back it would fizzle out again and he was in no position to analyze what was happening. "You're gonna empty your pockets of the cathedral's jewels or," he paused to catch his breath before landing a hard blow to the nose of one of the treasure hunting lackeys, "I'm gonna pound ya till they _fly_ out on their own."

The hit looked mighty painful, but Freed could tell that it wasn't as powerful as it usually would have been. Whatever was robbing Laxus of his magical power was also striping him of some of his strength. Freed's mind began to calculate. He knew next to nothing about magical deprivation, having read only a page or two on the topic in some ancient text or another, but he was pretty sure that it would be possible to nullify a nullification spell. _It should work like negative numbers or a double negative in language. The two negatives cancel each other out returning things back to a neutral or positive state… but in order to negate the nullification I need to determine its source._ Freed struggled to determine the method of action of the spell. _Which one of them is casting it? No one is chanting or naming actions… Are they perhaps taking turns? Is it an area of effect or a length of effect spell? God damn it! I've got to figure this out! For all we know the longer Laxus is exposed the weaker he could become!_

It was hard to collect the evidence as any observations he made had to be done while he simultaneously swung his saber at the enemy, but Freed refused to give up. He wasn't going to let Laxus fight this battle alone.

"Come on, let's get out of here," the masked man shouted as the sharp blade of Freed's saber bit the flesh of one of his minions.

"You ain't going anywhere," Laxus bellowed running after the man as he headed to the side entrance. The Thunder God attempted to head butt the man, but narrowly missed and Laxus mashed his teeth in anger. But the attack proved to not be without reward as something caught Freed's eye as the masked man dodged the attack. On his left arm, was a wide copper bracelet decorated with a strange glowing symbol. It wasn't a rune Freed recognized, but the glow of the symbol could only be magical. _That's it! The source of the nullification. A magical object, of course! They're treasure hunters, it only makes sense!_ There was no doubt in Freed's mind that he had discovered how they had robbed Laxus of his magic, and he rushed forward shouting for Laxus to cover him.

 _What the hell does he think he's doing?!_ Laxus thought to himself as he spit blood onto the floor of the cathedral. _Just because he has a sword doesn't make him invincible! Freed! What are you doing?!_ Laxus tried to mask his dismay as Freed ran for the side door placing himself between the remaining three treasure hunters and their intended exit. _If I can trap them within the cathedral, I can then create the other sides of the runic barrier…_

"You let us go or the old man suffers," the gaunt man said calmly staring down first Freed and then Laxus. "Understand that we mean business. No one need die here today."

"You hurt him and I swear-"

"Your master is simply sleeping. We have not hurt him any. Now, tell your sword-wielding friend to step aside as I can only be accommodating to one of them at a time." The masked man's tone was dark and menacing, but Freed did not flinch. Instead, his eyes were on Laxus. _Laxus, I have a plan. Trust me_ , he tried to communicate with his eyes. _Stall them, keep the banter going, grovel, whatever it takes. Don't worry about me._

"Sorry. I don't let _assholes_ tell me what to do," Laxus said to the masked man, while his eyes lingered on Freed. He knew that the swordsman must be up to something, but he didn't know what, and being one who rarely needed the assistance of others he wasn't used to blindly trusting. Not only was he not used to it, he was bad at it. Freed had to know that, despite the short span of time they had known each other. Laxus was sure that the rune mage must know that for him to trust like this was asking a lot. Yet, there was Freed risking his own safety trusting him to go along with whatever unknown plan Freed had come up with.

"I am no 'asshole,'" the masked man said sounding offended. "Not like you 'Dreyars'. Did you know that your Great-Grandfather was a treasure-hunter?"

"Nope. Don't care much about people I never met," Laxus said as he took a swing at one of the other treasure hunters. "Never been a history buff."

"Such honesty is refreshing," the masked man said with an amused expression on his sunken cheeks. "Knowing what to care about and what to not give a damn about is an underappreciated personality trait. Too bad you and I both know that you care a lot about your grandfather." The man wrapped his right hand around Makarov's throat. "Now step aside!"

Freed bowed his head and took a giant step to the side then ran madly past all of them including Laxus as he muttered things to himself.

"Nevermind him," the masked man shouted. "Go!" The two of his men that had not already gone out headed to the door, but found themselves unable to exit. Freed had created a runic wall blocking the way.

Laxus felt a sense of pride in the other boy's accomplishment. At least he wasn't the only one to fall victim to the rune mage's sneakiness.

Enraged, the masked man snarled, "You will lift this at once!"

"I can't," Laxus said with a shrug. "You'll have to talk to him about it."

"Do you want me to kill Makarov?" the masked man said, his voice shrill.

"I will not allow you to hurt him," Laxus roared as Freed joined him on his right engaging the other men in a cat and mouse game with his blade as he appeared to mumble to himself.

"Why don't you give up?" the masked man asked.

"Because," grunted Laxus, "One o' these times, Freed's gonna have made it… right."

And just then Laxus felt a flood of magic power returning to him. Laxus wasn't sure what Freed had done, but Makarov's eyes popped open and lifting his arm he punched the masked man in the face with one of his fists which had swollen to the size of a pumpkin. The man stumbled backward dropping the old man to the floor as the other treasure hunters tried to paw at the door.

"Gramps, you ok?" Laxus asked.

"Fine, fine," he mumbled as he swung his giant arm at the other treasure hunters. "I've got this. Go make sure they aren't getting away with anything belonging to the cathedral."

Fairy Tail's guild master now safe and their leader no longer imbued with special powers, the treasure hunters tried to scatter but the ones within the cathedral were all trapped within the box Freed had created. It took Laxus a while to figure out that Freed must have set a barrier over the front door as he entered, one on the side door when he blocked their path, and then the two sides of the box as they fought.

"Nice multitaskin'," Laxus said with a wink as he ran to leave the cathedral by way of the exit he had snuck out of many times in his younger days.

The compliment brought to Freed's lips the wisp of a smile, but it was there a mere moment before he shouted, "Laxus! You can't go that way! I was in a hurry so I had to forego selective passage."

Laxus paused his running and looked over his shoulder at the rune mage, scowling. "I don't know what that means, Brainiac! English, please."

"It means _no one_ including us will be able to get through that way, not for a while," Freed said, embarrassed.

Laxus turned around and ran for the front of the building. "Anything else important I should know?"

"Yes," Freed answered, seriously rushing past the dragon-slayer. "I believe the barrier outside is beginning to crumble."

The rune mage scurried down the stone steps of the cathedral toward a spot where he could see his runes cascading downward from a fissure in the runic wall. He had lessened his focus on the main barrier in order to set the ones within the cathedral. It was a calculated risk and if he could quickly repair the damage done it would be no problem, but if he didn't there was a good chance that some of the lesser treasure hunters would grab a few things and make a run for it.

"Don't let them get away with anything," Laxus ordered as he ran past his guild mates headed to where the treasure hunters had piled their loot.

T _hat cart damn well better still be there,_ he grumbled. _I don't feel like having to chase them all over hell and back._

Freed worked quickly replacing fractured runes, stitching back the magical formations that made the ethereal wall become corporeal, but it was slow going and he had to fix each marred section individually and while Laxus and Freed had fought their leader inside the cathedral, the treasure hunters on the outside had systematically attacked the building's runic encirclement with every item in their arsenal: pistols, sticks of explosives, and the giant wooden staves that many of them carried.

Freed smirked smugly. His barrier was cracking in places, but he was still proud of its performance, because it wasn't the force with which they hit it that was causing its failure, but the sheer number of locations they had attacked it in. Were it not for their numbers the barrier would easily have remained intact even while he simultaneously cast the runic spells within the nave of the church. After the beating he had endured the day before, he felt a great sense of accomplishment in knowing that he was making a positive contribution to the battle even if it wasn't in the triumphant and dramatic way of his friend, Laxus.

Securing the barrier put a great strain upon him, his magic draining substantially as he fought to hold it together. He ran from one fissure to another mending the runic wall as though sewing together the knee of a well-worn pair of pants.

Freed was standing near the barrier, his sword extended replacing a number of fractured pieces of text when a group of thieves ran past him followed by the Thunder God himself. The three treasure hunters were running to the cart of loot, apparently in hopes of pocketing something before escaping Freed's runic prison. The swordsman smirked, amused by the hopelessness of their predicament. There was something about watching Laxus' prey scurrying about frantically seeking refuge from his assaults that amused the rune mage. He would have loved to be able to lean against the wall of the cathedral and watch the lion and mouse games going on, but he was too busy with tending to the barrier to give more than a cursory glance to the three thieves.

They were arguing loudly about what to do and it was enough to make Freed chuckle in spite of himself.

 _Yes, hide behind that bush there. I'm sure that will throw my Thunder God off your scent,_ he mused as he moved to another damaged spot in the runic wall. _Oh, there they go, grabbing things from the cart. Tsk, tsk. Laxus is going to have teach them a lesson, I fear. Oh, that was a long attack name… they must be pissing him off._

"Forget it! We just gotta get away from him!" shouted one of the men from somewhere in the neighborhood of the pile of stolen items.

"Well, I'm not leaving here empty handed," shouted another thief, this one with a distinctly feminine timbre.

Freed sighed, _Really? What clueless morons! As though there is any way they could escape with treasure at this point. They'll be lucky if they escape with their limbs intact._

While Freed finished repairing a couple of crushed runes, Laxus hurled a bout of energy in the direction of the treasure hunters who had clustered around the cart of loot. The female treasure hunter realizing she was directly in Laxus' line of fire grabbed an oval mirror from the heap of treasure beside her and used it like a shield, deflected the attack. Her plan dawned on Laxus a moment too late for him to do anything other than call the name of his friend.

"Freed!"

The rune mage turned toward his friend's call just as the reflected beam of lightning connected with the would-be lightning rod in his hand. For a split second the lightning arched between the mirror and Freed's saber, the tip of the sword sparking and sizzling like a firework about to explode. The swordsman felt the power of Laxus' lightning course through his entire body as his eyes rolled backward in his head and then the rune mage was out.

Freed fell backward, his limbs stiff, each strand of his emerald hair standing on end giving his head the appearance of an angry green porcupine, but more alarming to Laxus was the sudden collapse of the runic barrier. Like a soup bubble popping, the impenetrable wall vanished the moment Freed began his rapid descent to the ground. Forgetting all about chasing down the thieves and protecting Magnolia's treasures, Laxus ran to the young man praying under his breath that Freed was merely incapacitated and not dead. The dragon-slayer knew that he had not been holding back on that attack and to have it concentrated in the way it was… Laxus' stomach churned as he fell to his knees beside his friend. Laxus slid his hands under his unconscious Freed lifting him like a board due to the rigored state of his body.

"Freed! Come on, man, wake up!" He leaned over trying to listen and feel for breath, but with everything going on around him it was too hard to hear or see much.

"Freed, buddy, come on!" Laxus was feeling the same panicky he had felt that morning when he thought Freed had left, but this time it was magnified many times over. "Come on, you don't want those treasure hunting assholes to steal your saber do ya?" Laxus patted Freed's face. "Wake up, god damn you!" He was getting desperate. He wasn't sure what to do. This hadn't happened before. He'd accidentally hit guild mates and family with his magic before and _occasionally_ he'd even done it _intentionally_ , but it had never gotten concentrated in the way this attack had.

_Damn him and that sword of his. Doesn't he know mages aren't supposed to need weapons! This could be bad. Really bad. I wasn't pulling any punches. God dammit! Maybe I better go get Gramps, but I can't leave him. I guess I could carry him…_

Laxus looked around. He didn't even know where Makarov was at the moment. _Oh, I will never forgive myself if I killed you._

Laxus leaned forward resting his head on Freed's chest willing him to come to. The Thunder God was too upset to have an accurate sense of the passage of time, but he was pretty sure that Freed should have taken a breath by this point if he was still alive. "Freed, you gotta wake up. You've got to come back. You're my only friend. Don't leave me all alone."

Laxus was about to lose it. He hadn't thought it was possible. He had become so numb after losing his mom and all the horrible things his father had done to him, but since meeting Freed all kinds of feelings were stirring within him and not just the hubris and insecurity that he routinely ebbed and flowed and within him. He felt something very strong and strange for this odd boy from a world that seemed so different from his own.

"God damn you, Freed," Laxus said as he wiped a tear away. He had worked hard not to cry since the day his dad left. He didn't let himself cry when he got no card or call on the lacrimacrystal on his birthday. Even on the anniversary of his mother's death he wouldn't allow himself to shed tears. He didn't cry when his grandfather and he argued. He didn't cry when the other guild members went out to have fun and didn't invite him. He channeled all that anger and disappointment into his magic, but this… this was too much for him to hold in.

He bent his head forward and like a spring rain the tears began to fall upon Freed's chest.

 _I found the friend I've always wanted and after two days I killed him._ His lips curled as the tears formed rivers. How cruel was the world to do this to him after all he had been through? Why did he lose everyone?

"Ssssssss"

In between his sniffles, Laxus thought he heard something.

"Sssssssss…"

Laxus' eyes widened. He had _definitely_ heard something. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand as he observed that Freed's body now seemed more relaxed. Laxus brought his ear to Freed's lips.

"Sssssorrrryyyy." The word was barely a whisper. Laxus would have thought he imagined it had he not felt a push of air behind each syllable of the word. Laxus smiled.

"Freed! Freed, are you alright?" Laxus shouted with elation.

Freed's pupils rolled downward settling into a cross-eyed position. "I'm sorry."

Laxus laughed. "You're sorry? _I'm_ sorry. It wasn't like you jumped out in front of me or something."

"Not that… you were crying," Freed murmured. Freed wanted to wipe away his friend's tears before anyone could see, but he couldn't move anything other than his pupils. He felt like he was paralyzed. "And you shouldn't be holding me like this… it could… ruin your rep," Freed continued.

Laxus frowned. Having Freed call attention to his desire to have a bad boy reputation made him feel embarrassed. He didn't know what to say. He wasn't good with words. He was no good at saying the stuff that was probably the most important things to say, so instead he made a joke. "You should worry more about the way you look. You look like you stuck your finger in a lacrima socket."

Freed chuckled a little, though it sounded more like a cough than a laugh.

"Did we win?" he asked as he began to pull himself upright with Laxus' assistance.

Laxus shrugged. "Who cares as long as we all made it through in one piece?"

Freed said nothing. He felt guilty. He knew Laxus liked winning and he had wanted to teach the treasure hunters a lesson and ensure his guild's supremacy was recognized, but that was probably all screwed up now.

"I'm sorry you didn't get-"

"Shut up. I gotta leave some of the glory for the weaklings," Laxus said. "Now, quit trying to get up. I'm gonna carry you to the infirmary."

Freed spun his head to glare directly into Laxus's eyes. "Like hell you are!"

"You need to be looked at. I wasn't holding any punchs for that move."

"Then I'll walk there myself," Freed announced as though Laxus had just made a grave insult to his honor.

"Freed, don't be a stubborn bastard. You just got shocked by-"

"I got skewered by your lightning. I assure you that I am aware, but that isn't any reason to be treating me like some kind of infant. I can walk. Just help me up."

Laxus stood up and with some difficulty assisted Freed to his feet.

"There," Freed murmured. "You stand there and I'll…" Freed groaned. His body felt weird, but he would rather die than have Laxus carry him like a bride. He'd have to be closer to death to accept that… even if he did enjoy having Laxus near him.

"I don't think this is a good idea. Just let me carry-"

"No," Freed snapped.

"Fine. Can I do this at least?" Laxus growled as he wrapped his arm around the rune mage's waist so that Freed could lean against him as they walked to the guild hall. Freed smiled goofily as he buried his spiky-haired head into the side of the Thunder God's chest.

"Yeah, that's good," the rune mage assured him.

"Freed, you aren't making yourself walk just because it would look girly to-"

"You aren't the only one with pride. Now, shut up. I have a headache," moaned Freed into the blond's quadricep.

"Sorry," Laxus mumbled awkwardly as he gazed down at the top of the other boy's head. _We're quite the pair_ , he thought as he surveyed his own blood-spattered shirt and bruised knuckles which were currently wrapped around the midsection of the boy with the emerald hair.

"Don't be. I had a lot of fun today," Freed said looking up. He wasn't smiling. He was still too dazed from his infusion of lightning to do that, but Laxus already knew him well enough to recognize the happy sparkle in his eyes.

"Me, too," he said gently patting his friend. "Me, too."


End file.
